Are you currently using an electric attic fan or some sort of electric ventilation system at home? Then have you ever thought of installing a solar attic fan? When most people think of solar products, they immediately think “expensive!”, but when we investigated getting a solar powered attic fan and compared it to conventional ventilation systems, it was obvious which way we were going to go.

There are so many clear benefits for getting a solar attic fan, that you would be crazy not to invest in one. But before we delve into the reasons for buying one, we will quickly explain how a solar powered attic fan works:

A solar attic fan is a solar powered vertical turbine, that is installed on the highest point on your roof – usually the attic (hence the name). As soon as the sun hits the solar panels, the turbine starts to spin, drawing warm air out of the house.

As the sun rises further and the temperature in the house rises, the warm air in the house naturally rises to the attic, where it is then sucked out by the fan. This warm air is replaced by cool air that is drawn in from outside. And your house stays cool!
Okay, now that you understand how it works, let’s explain why a solar powered attic fan is such a good investment:

1 – Easy Cheap Installation:

When  electric attic fans are installed, they need to be wired up to your electricity. This wiring obviously needs to be done by a qualified electrician with an electricity permit and inspection. This costs money, and it can take up to 6 hours to get the system working.

On the other hand, a solar attic fan has its own power source  – the sun -  so no wiring is needed. This means you require no electricity permits to install the fan. All you need to do is follow the accompanying step-by-step instructions. And at most it will take you 2 hours to get it working.

2 – Non-Stop Operation:

With an electric attic fan, to save power, it is usually equipped with a thermostat. This regulates the operation of the fan, so that it only spins once the attic reaches a certain temperature – usually 125 degrees Fahrenheit. The drawback to this is that by the time the ventilation starts the house is already warm (remember warm air rises), so it will take some time for it to cool down.

However, since a solar powered attic fan uses no electricity, it can operate all day long, from when the sun rises until a little after the sun sets. So air is constantly circulating in your home, regardless of the temperature, keeping your home well-ventilated and cool.

3 – Prolongs Roof Life:

If you haven’t installed an attic fan yet, then maybe it is time you invested in a solar attic fan. The reason?

During cold winter months heat trapped in your attic can melt snow on your roof. As the the water trickles down, it collects and refreezes in the cooler eaves or gutters, leading to costly and destructive ice damming. By having a solar powered attic fan, it requires minimal sunlight to operate and keep the attic cool.

Furthermore, warm moisture from showering and cooking tends to rise and get trapped in the attic. This leads to mold and mildew that can saturate your insulation and cause fungal decay and destruction of your roof frame and decking. With a solar attic fan, the attic stays well-ventilated, preventing any mildew from growing.

4 – Did We Say Free Energy?

Electric ventilation systems tend to use a lot of power, leading to higher electricity bills, especially during summer months.

Whereas, with a solar powered attic fan, it requires none of your household power to operate. All it needs is some sunlight – which when we last checked was FREE. So the only cost you have to worry about is the initial investment. After that, it costs absolutely nothing to operate it.

Also, most states offer tax incentives for installing renewable energy technology at home.  This lowers the initial cost of a solar attic fan.

5 – Reduce Your Carbon Footprint:

Electric fans need power to operate. And where does that power come from? Well, burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil, and nuclear power station – which all emit carbon that pollutes our air and causes global warming.

A solar attic fan, on the other hand, use no electricity, so it helps reduce your carbon footprint, thus helping the environment.

So many people talk about “green this” and “green that”, but very few actually get involved. Now that you know how easy, cost-effective, and “green” it is to install a solar powered attic fan, you can “walk the talk” and actually live a greener, cleaner life.

A DIY installed solar attic fan starts at around $400 (excl. tax and incentives), which is a small price to pay for free ventilation and reducing your energy dependence.

A few other Europeans are known to have made hydrogen from water by adding acids and metals, but Henry Cavendish, a meticulous British scientist, went further because he had what many of us wish we had enough money to do nothing but experiments. He took advantage of his fortunate financial circumstances for the

Advancement of scientific learning, and he made excellent notes of his discoveries. For men, women are a distraction. Henry was so enthralled with science that he refused to be distracted. He wouldn’t even look!

In 1766, after repeated experiments, he isolated and described hydrogen gas (then called “inflammable air”), identifying it as a distinct element. He applied a spark to the gas, it yielded water, and at length he concluded that water is made of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. Now you know who was the first human on record to reach this conclusion about the nature of water. Travel by hydrogen filled balloons followed soon after, in 1783.

A very admirable partnership was that of Antoine Laurent and Marie Anne Lavoisier. They are deservedly called “the founders of modern chemistry.” They were a French husband and wife scientific team that did the most important experiment of the 18th century, and, interestingly, it had ,to do with identifying the makeup of water.

By proving the composition of H20, Lavoisier disproved the erroneous teaching surrounding phlogiston, which was thought to be a component of combustion. Belief in phlogiston was a mistaken notion held by the scientific community for more than half a century, and it ceased to exist when Lavoisier named the gas formerly known as “inflammable air” hydrogen, from the French hydro (water) + gene (maker). Inversely, you could say “made from water.”

The couple did a tremendous amount of good by their numerous experiments touching on diverse subjects. If they were alive today, you can be sure that they would be at the forefront of pointing to a viable alternative to polluting, expensive, disappearing fossil fuels. For instance, in 1774, they focused sunlight through a series of high powered lenses to produce enough heat to melt platinum, over 3000 degrees. An 18th century artist’s rendering of their device is shown on page 2 of this book. Do you see Lavoisier wearing sunglasses?

Heat has since been used to perform thermolysis of water. Yes, water can be broken down in its component gases simply by applying heat, and a solar collector can provide the heat necessary to do it, by using a catalyst to lower the temperature at which the reaction occurs. The sun is the most abundant source of energy available on this planet, and water is the most abundant resource.

A solar furnace is a device which produces heat by concentrating solar energy. In order to concentrate this solar energy, the furnace uses reflectors.

A small solar furnace can be used to prepare food as a substitute for firewood. A large solar furnace can produce enough electricity to power a small community.

Some organizations have introduced this technology to developing nations, in the hopes that it might lessen the consumption of firewood, and help solve the deforestation problems in that particular region.

How Does a Solar Furnace Work?

This is a really a very simple system. In principle, one needs to use at least two mirrors, and point them in the same direction, so that they focus light on a concentrated area. This in return intensifies the sunlight, because the area not only receives heat from the sun, but also from the two mirrors. If you add more mirrors into the set, you can produce a greater degree of heat, which can then be used for cooking or in other applications where heat energy is necessary.

There are some groups which can create such a furnace which produces a large amount of heat energy to turn organic materials into ashes.

It has been said that the only limiting factor to the amount of heat that can be created, is how efficiently the mirrors are focused on a single spot. The more accurate the focus of each mirror, the more heat can be produced.

When used properly, a solar furnace can harness the sun’s rays to produce very high temperatures. This is done by using a curved mirror, or an array of mirrors, which act as parabolic reflectors that concentrate the light onto a single point. The heat thus generated can be used as an alternative energy source, can be used to produce hydrogen fuel, or can even melt steel.

Small-scale furnaces can be used for cooking, for pasteurization, and as outdoor camping ovens.

The main drawback to this form of renewable energy is that it still depends on weather conditions for its effectiveness. Once the sky gets cloudy, its heat output diminishes.

Solar Furnaces in History



It has been said that Greek inventor Archimedes used a solar furnace to set the sails of enemy ships on fire. If this is true, he would have had to have known the technology to precisely focus sunlight on a distant target. In ancient times, mirrors were made out of polished copper or silver. They couldn’t be accurately focused as easily as our modern mirrors can. However, those were times of strength and skill. In 1973, The Greek navy did recreate this scenario as an experiment, and succeeded in setting fire to a wooden boat fifty meters away.

There may be more we can learn from history on the use of solar power and alternative energy. After all, those were times without gas pumps and power grids. But what’s most important is that we continue to research, develop, and implement clean energy solutions, wherever we can in the modern world – both for the sake of our nations’ respective economies, and for the sake of a cleaner future on Earth.