Garage fan venting to attic

[iceman536]

This is mostly about cooling my house. My attached garage ceiling is 1/2 attic above and 1/2 living space. Has anyone used a garage exhaust fan to move this hot air from the garage and into/out of the attic?

Brands of fans?
Cost?
How effective?

Do these fans just make your attic hotter, or do they really push the hot air out throught the attic vents?

Any help is appreciated.

 

[BillK]

Ice,
I think you will find that doing so is pretty much illegal under most building codes. The garage ceiling should also be a double layer of drywall if I remember correctly, for fire blocking. Most people dont realize it but even the pull down type of attic stairs are generally illegal in a garage, unless they are a fire code rated type of stair.

 

[iceman536]

Ah, the example I saw "Includes fire proof damper". Guess I should check with the city. Thanks.

 

[Wingnut65]

iceman, I have had the same idea for a while but haven't moved on it yet. It seems logical that my garage gets to be about 100-105 and the attic is 130+, so pumping the cooler air from outside, thru the garage would theoretically cool the garage and attic.

Not sure of the code around here for a rating, but I know for sure that my foot went through one layer of 1/2" drywall. (I now have a larger attic access near my stair). I'll check our code book tomorrow.

I'm interested in seeing how this thread continues.

jeff

 

[iceman536]

I have double 5/8" drywall in ceiling ... also have pull-down attic stairs.

 

[KCarGuy]

My garage is fully insulated and drywalled, I have a hunter 5 speed ceiling fan in the center, and a open staircase that leads up to the loft.

Upstairs, it is a storage area when you first get up there with a window at the top of the stairs and few roof vents. This area is not insulated.

7 feet in, there is a wall and a door. go inside and there is another room that is fully insulated and it is my music, poker, bar room. there is a window air unit in the wall and another window on the east.

because I have roof vents, eave vents and good air floor past the insulation and an open area in the top of the roof area for the hot to escape, people think that my garage is air conditioned when they first walk in, and its not.

All the heat goes up and out, all the cool falls down, so I want all the cool in my main working area during the summer.

also i run my fan backwards to draw the cool lower air up and then off the ceiling.

It all works pretty darn well. as long as you dont trap the hot air in.

 

[iceman536]

I have been told my a HVAC guy that this will not violate code. Will double check with city inspector.

 

[PassnThru]

I have a whole house fan in the ceiling of my 24 x 32 detached garage. I have gable end vents as well as a full ridge vent on the roof. When I turn that fan on it will cool the attic down to the outside temp in no time. I've never timed it but I'll bet it doesn't take 10 minutes. I have storage up there so it works great for me. As long as your attic ventilation is good it will push that hot air out. In fact, I'll turn it on during those really hot summer days just to help cool the attic - whether I'm up there or not. Of course, this is a detached garage to no code issues there.

 

[reinhardt]

i am also interested in this, i am in virginia and would like to put a fan in the overhead in the garage. it gets hot out there! maybe on a thermostat?

 

[pattenp]

I have this garage vent fan and it works well.
http://www.rewci.com/gfgacovesy.html

 

[Big Boi]

I have this garage vent fan and it works well.
http://www.rewci.com/gfgacovesy.html

Someone please buy this and let the rest of us know how it works...


I want one

 

[hidollartoys]

someone please buy this and let the rest of us know how it works...


I want one

then buy one......chicken.

 

[Gary S]

I don't see venting a garage with a fan is going to solve the problem. If it is truly hot outside, all a fan can do is bring in hot air from outside.
Insulate, insulate, and insulate some more. Then put in a small window air conditioner and enjoy. And, you can use a ceiling fan to move your nice cool air around inside.

 

[iceman536]

No window.

 

[CUSTOMMANCAVES.COM]

No window.

Two words: Split Unit...(Technically four words: Split Mini Ductless Unit)...

Not sure about codes, but I prefer not to share the air in my garage with the air in my home. Too many stories of cars left running, gasoline/propane leaks, etc.

I always treat garages as a separate (sealed) entity and do not allow any penetrations between garage and living space. If the garage attic shares space with the home attic, a sealed firewall should be added to separate the two.

 

[Big Boi]

I have a whole house fan in the ceiling of my 24 x 32 detached garage. I have gable end vents as well as a full ridge vent on the roof. When I turn that fan on it will cool the attic down to the outside temp in no time. I've never timed it but I'll bet it doesn't take 10 minutes. I have storage up there so it works great for me. As long as your attic ventilation is good it will push that hot air out. In fact, I'll turn it on during those really hot summer days just to help cool the attic - whether I'm up there or not. Of course, this is a detached garage to no code issues there.

Do you have pics?

 

[Big Boi]

then buy one......chicken.

How did you know?

 

[28HopUp]

I always treat garages as a separate (sealed) entity and do not allow any penetrations between garage and living space. If the garage attic shares space with the home attic, a sealed firewall should be added to separate the two.

Couldn't find a picture of my house, but the attic over the attached garage has a pass-through area to the main attic over the 2nd floor of the main house. In my case would a firewall only be necessary if the garage was vented to the attic? Presently I have two layers of 5/8" fire rated drywall on the garage ceiling, with no vent to the attic.

 

[CUSTOMMANCAVES.COM]

Couldn't find a picture of my house, but the attic over the attached garage has a pass-through area to the main attic over the 2nd floor of the main house. In my case would a firewall only be necessary if the garage was vented to the attic? Presently I have two layers of 5/8" fire rated drywall on the garage ceiling, with no vent to the attic.

It may not be necessary/required, but when I build/modify a garage, I always seal off everything between the garage and main house. A quick search of Google News revealed this story. There are hundreds, if not thousands of similar stories every year:

http://www.tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/538342.html?nav=5021

 

[CUSTOMMANCAVES.COM]

How did you know?

That's not "Big Boi"...THIS is Big Boy (if you're not from Calif., you won't understand):

 

[z28toz06]

http://www.teksupply.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ts1_cooling_exhaust_fans-ts1_exhaust_fans;pg104662.html

just put one of these in the garage wall as high up as you can. Or place in the attic and put a vent in the ceiling. this will spare you the noise of hearing it run.

 

[dmeadow]

My first house was one of those little 50's era ranch homes. It was in Dallas, TX, where it got REALLY hot in the summer. The house had central air, but it also had an attic fan, which was typical in homes of at least that era, maybe through the 60's.

It was pretty big, the size of a larger box fan (maybe a bit bigger), and substantial (no plastic). It operated off an electric motor with a belt on it to the fan. It had louvered slats on the ceiling side so it wasn't real noticeable when turned off and the louvers were closed. When you started it up it would pull the air through the house and push it into the attic, which had vents on the gables on either side.

Turn that sucker on and the louvers would open up. If you only had one window open it would make the curtains on that window stand straight out into the house! Small creatures would be sucked onto the window screen...

It was best to open a lot of windows before you turned it on. It was very effective in creating a breeze through the home and cooling it down rapidly. It saved me a bunch of money on A/C bills because I found I could use it effectively in cooling the house on all but the hottest or most humid days.

So yes, they are effective. I don't know if you can find one from an old house somewhere, but if you search on attic fan on CL or something, or call around to demo companies you might be able to some up with one. In your case, with no windows, you'll have to open the garage door a bit to get the breeze to work, but I think it would help.

Here is what I am talking about. They make them in various sizes:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...s&cm_ite=255331?ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=255331

 

[z28toz06]

I had this fan laying around. Figured I'd set it up in the window so I can pull it out if I want to in the winter.

I have a louver grate but I have to rig up some trim to hold it on today. This should pull most of the heat out in the afternoon.