Just did two of these last week in a couple houses here in Hawaii. I recommend anybody tackling this job to do it in winter or at night.

Having spent 5 years as a roofer, I can confirm that ridge vents are not intended for venting hot air from your attic (although they do a bit). They are about preventing condensation and moisture buildup. If you need to vent hot air from your attic, get a attic fan. Install it at one end of your attic and make sure to install a large enough vent at the opposite end of the attic for cross flow. Otherwise you sill be sucking your expensive airconditioned air up and out of your attic.

I grew up I grew up in St Louis in the 60s and 70s with no air conditioning, but our house had a giant attic fan above the staircase, taking the heat out of the attic at night makes all the difference in the world, comfortable sleeping without air conditioning and easy keeping the house halfway cool during the day.

So far, so good! I installed this fan yesterday. kzfaq.infoUgkx7yWIKcrbA9KMHkGSfcgxW2lsjHT6B8Sh I've been watching a continuous radon monitor in my house for about a week, and the levels have been running between 4.5 and 7.9 pCi/L. Shortly after I installed this fan, the radon level started dropping, and in less than 24 hours since I installed it, the level is now 1.9. My basement is approximately 2,000 square feet. Total home square footage above basement is approximately 4,000 square feet. The noise level so far is very quiet. Mine is installed indoors, so I had to purchase a cord and connector. If I have any problems later, I'll update my review. But for now, I'm very pleased with it.Update after 48 hours: Using a constant monitor, my radon is now fluctuating between 0.38 and 0.45 pCi/L. I've moved the monitor to my basement and am getting a constant 0.43 reading. After 24 hours, and when I know the weather will be safe, I'll place the monitor outside for about 12 hours. I'm thinking that the 0.38 to 0.45 may be the outside "ambient" radon level. I'm using this monitor (purchased from Amazon): Corentium Home Radon Detector by Airthings 223

Such a positive impact for any home, especially ones with just a ridge vent! Great video (and a big thank you!!) 😊

Great job 😀👍👍. I am a hvac MECHANIC contractor and I installed a new air conditioner system and my customer wasn't happy, because the thermostat wasn't going below 76f. I checked everything and nothing was with the equipments and my installation. So I went to the attic to see if had a ventilation fan. And didn't not have one. That was the problem. Have been a attic ventilation fan is very important

Relating to your fine efforts...So my sons foot when thru the dry-wall ceiling when he was playing around in the hot attic. When dad steadied his foot dangling, I could feel strong and very hot air pressure pushing down from the attic into the living room. Hence, my repair journey began. Inside the attic, measured the BEFORE temps at ridge vent without Gable Fan was 155 deg. Got it down to 135 with 1 Gable fan. With 2-Gable fans it went down to 122 deg. But the biggest IMPROVEMENT was the easy installation of RADIANT Barrier (Stapled from Eves to the Ridge Vent). This compliments the gable fans BECAUSE it channels the hot air starting at the eves upward that gets sandwiched between the roof and the rafters with the Radiant barrier. Now my attic temps are within 5-deg of outside air tmps... many times lower even when sun is beating on the roof. DEFINITELY removes heat that results in a cooler downstairs. The downstairs of my 4000 Square foot house is very comfortably cooled in less than 15 minutes with only a 2.5 Ton HVAC ! Let's make the air great again !

He is not the first one to put it up this way , but the first to show it , 👍😀 , I did mine this way 25 years ago

I did this as soon as we moved in the home. This was done 20 years ago and it keeps the upstairs bedrooms cool. It also extends the life on the roof shingles. 👍👍

Phoenix home energy auditor here. Care should be taken to ensure that air isn't being pulled from the home's interior to feed the attic depressurization caused by the fan. To check, use a smoke pen or "puffer stick" inside the home at the can lights, and/or around ceiling fan or ceiling light mounts. If the smoke gets pulled into the attic, then air-sealing is in order to prevent losing conditioned air to the attic. Also, I usually recommend to my customers that, if they want to use an attic fan, that they ensure that there's adequate makeup air from the bird blocks, dormer vents, gable vents, etc.

I installed 1 of these fans yrs ago in attic. I put mine on a lighted switch so I could power to it during winter months. I use this type of switch, so I didn't have climb all the way up into attic to make sure the fans power was on. Great video

I can tell this is a great idea right away, for upstairs bedrooms are always hotter and harder to cool down than the main level in summer days.

Man, you must have a huge attic entry. I'll be crawling with all of this in pieces and assembling in place.

I did the same thing in South Carolina years ago. The project paid for itself in one month, so it was the best energy saver I ever bought.

Thanks for the video! This is a great idea and perfect for that unbearable summer weather and in return keep the house cooler!

Thanks guy, very helpful, we're getting one right away and I know how to install it now thanks to you! Awesome.

Very timely video for me. I have a 2 story house, which gets very hot upstairs during summer months. Thank you. 👍

Every HVAC guy I have ever spoken to recommends using attic fans. So never trust a roofer for your heating and cooling needs and never trust a HVAC guy for your roofing needs.

Gable vent fans make a HUGE difference Great video. Thanks for posting ‼️

Did one of these in my house in Austin TX. Saved almost $100 a month in summer on electricity.

NP! I've looked at a couple of your other videos. I'm going to try the gutter cleaning shopvac and PVC combo. Looks like it will work well and will keep me off the roof. Thanks and keep up the great videos.

I did my Dad's house years ago, and because it was a split level home I installed two attic powered fans since there was two separate attics. The outcome, less hydro used for air conditioning and longer shingle roof life.

I did this about 15 yrs ago. It dropped the summer house temps by 2 degrees. The AC couldn’t get any lower on its own. A great addition. After a few years it quit but the trees had grown to help with the heat. I did some siding work last year and didn’t replace it when it would have been easiest. Thanks for the reminder!

Installed a Quiet Cool fan this year, made huge difference already, the second floor in my colonial home is significantly cooler before turning ac on.

Great video. Very thorough. Good editing the out the dual spots. I like the plywood mount idea. It might be good to put some water seal on it before putting it up.

I had this done ending of summer 2019 and was the best decision ever... the attic is not hot and the house feels cooler and my AC has not been used more than twice this summer. Saving lot of money system paid itself in two months...

Well done. You’ve inspired me to replace my now not working attic fan! I’ve been putting it off for way to long!

Well done, Thank you. I like the idea of a mounting board , it makes the installation a lot easier, and the screen.

Great, this makes the couch I put in my attic make more sense

I went through my attic sealing any cracks in the floor, put in soffit vents and more blow in insulation. After that installed a temp controlled attic fan and it all made a dramatic difference!

He looks like you did a pretty good job of installing with one exception you never use never use extension cords use Romex. Extension cords are for temporary use only

Very good basic install. I'm getting ready to install a QuietCool Pro attic gable fan in a bi-level home.

The screen wire that you used is called 1/4" hardware cloth. Nice job quick and easy, and it works.

I installed one of these in the attic gable over my bedroom. It was too noisy so I changed it to one that was solar powered which was weaker but much more quiet. I also installed radiant shielding in the rafters. Finally I installed a $20 homemade version of a whole-house fan which I turn on at night with the windows open. It pulls in cool air and pushes out residual warm air in the attic. The last two improvements seemed to help the most.

I’m having the same problem. Our homes are the same size. I’ll tackle this soon. Thank you. Excellent video.

Awesome video! Thanks for your help in this project! Have to do this in my attic too..Thank you!

Most of these units call for a 3-4 in spacing off the plywood frame ... and yes, some air escapes via this gap, but this allows for a free flow of air and prevents back pressure between the blade and louvers/screen ... this allows the fan to spin at factory speed with less restriction and allows motor to cool better and it will last longer ... this is why the brackets are spaced the way they are ...I just retired from 4 decades of building and have seen many that were installed incorrectly causing them to burn out prematurely ... PSA, read and follow the manufacturers directions on fan spacing ... every manufacturer of gable end fans states 3-4 in spacing off of the frame

I am using a fan that is similar to this one amzn.to/2XSkd1H

This is exactly what I need to do this summer. Thanks for a well presented video.

When my wife and had our roof reshingled three years ago I bought a vent fan to replace one of the passive roof vents and had them install it. The difference was so dramatic - the AC unit didn't need to be used nearly as often in the summer and when we did turn it on the hot corner with all the afternoon sun was no longer an insufferable oven.

This is awesome. I need this done in my attic

Thank you so much for sharing your project here! I have an octagonal vent just like yours on my west gable end. Unfortunately, I don't have a ridge vent like yours, but have a window on the east end. Unless anyone here has some cautions for me, I have acquired a fan with thermostat and plan on doing it the way you did with your plywood. The only change I'll probably make is to either turn the mounting brackets around so the leading edge of the fan housing sits down through the plywood to eliminate the air gap entirely, or push the entire fan through the plywood from the back side so the brackets sit on the other side of the plywood. I'll have to look to see which would be better.

Out of all the video's i have seen, yours is the best!

I’ve just replaced my roof and sagging ceilings and found out that no rafter vents were anywhere in the eves and they blew insulation into it and covered all the eve circulation openings. My fan I found up there doesn’t work at all and I’m so glad I found the thermostat style one you showed in your video. I’m gonna measure the old one and install a new one in its place. Bless you for your information! I’ve slowly started adding new rafters vents which is painstakingly hard to do because you’re squeezing yourself to the lowest point to staple them in but I’m determined like no other for this situation.

Nicely done. One suggestion for future projects. Would've been good to quantify the change. Pick a 95 degree day, for example, & measure the attic temp before install. After the project pick a day that's the same temp at same time of day & use same thermometer @ same attic location. Very interesting. Thx!

I did that as well, in my house in Alabama. Got from Home Depot, and installed near the peak of the roof, and set it's thermostat to 105'F. Result was a 20' to 30' F reduction in temperature in the attic. Note: the motors only seem to last 3-4 years (bearings dry out), and meed replacement. Fortunately, HD has replacement motors as well.

As a Brit, living here in the UK, I love to watch channels like this. We do have a different climate to you in the USA, so we have different building techniques. I'm looking at your attic and thinking, he has ZERO insulation inside his roof! WTF for a start just insulating the roof (the part under the shingles) would "bounce" a lot of heat absorbed by the sun beating down on the roof surface. Another viewer has already mentioned "painting" the roof with a lighter color, to reflect the radiated heat away from the upper surface. Yes the attic fan will radically improved the airflow through the attic and cool it down, in the same way as having just a basic ceiling fan installed in hot countries helps to cool the room down in hot weather. What some viewers fail to understand, is the value of airflow, in cooling down warm/hot items. We have had air-cooled motor-cycle engines & motor car engines, BMW & Porsche back in the 1930's have good examples of cooling their engines without RADIATORS! Radiators are the same as AIR-CON units, they use power and a liquid coolant to cool the engines. It works, yet it is expensive to operate. Air flow works, not just by moving away the warm air & replacing it with cooler air, but its the cooling effect that cooler air has, of flowing over a warm surfaces and taking away that heat. We humans use "perspiration" as a means to cool us down, as water/moisture when it evaporates has a bigger COOLING effect so we cool quicker, but lose liquid in return, so we need to hydrate to be safe..

I grew up in a wood frame house, and we had a 4-foot fan in our attack. We would turn it on and open the attack door, then the windows in the house. The fan would pull the air through. That was our air-conditioning

160f attic (Arizona), just built custom 5cft swamp cooler for the attic, works great! I even got the attic to be cooler then the garage.

Pay attention to the fans that are air through cooling. I put thermometers all over the attic. The delta was 30 to 50 degrees F higher day to night in the summer in the Dallas area. I put in a single attic roof vent in thermostat control from in the house not at the fan. I also added a 36” belt driven fan at the eaves. This fan also thermostat controlled. The temperature drop was a function of how hot it was but the great reduction at the high side about 30 degrees F. The big issue with these attic fans is they are shaded pole motors like your box fan with air through cooling and bushings not ball bearings. Shade pole motors use as much as 85% of their energy which is dissipated as heat. Also because of the dust that goes through the motor to cool it adheres to the edges of the oiled bushings and wicks out the oil. That causes premature failure of the motor characterized by a locked rotor. That happened to that attic fan over and over however I was diligent it checking the motor and with a three year warrantee I kept replacing it about every two years. The big box store had no replacements one year so they refunded the total purchase price. I promptly went to my local motor shop a bought a capacitor run airover ball bearing motor( a bit more expensive). This motor is more energy efficient and no lost lubricant due to dust. These motors can last 30 years. The important issue in this application was to cool the overly hot attic to reduce energy loss from the attic vent tubing. Also avoid buying shaded pole motors such as box fans get a better fan that at least has a capacitor run arrangement. If a device has bushings you can add more oil at the end of season annual cleaning. Box fans made in the USA in the 1970s had oil holes new Chinese fans have no oil holes and are made in such a way as to preclude oiling. Planned obsolescence I have kept some of these working for 10 years with oiling.

Great video thanks, I needed help in installing a fan below roof vent. Had my roof done a few years ago and they removed the 2 whirlybirds and put four passive vents.. well the last few summers have been Hot!! My attic is very small. But I am going to hopefully get a fan up before May ahhhh.

Thanks for the video, it was very informative and I’ll be adding an attic fan to my house shortly. I’m hoping it will reduce my AC costs during the summer months.

HVAC tech here. I would suggest one on each end. One blowing in and one blowing out to equalize pressure. You can suck your cool air out of your house unless all lighting and other penetrations are sealed. Equalizing stops this.

If you get noticeable indoor noise from the fan, use stacked neoprene/rubber washers under the fan mounts. Couple of thick ones or a few thin ones. They will act as noise dampeners.

Awesome awesome video. Thank you for sharing this !!! Corey from North Carolina

I'm the next to install one of those fans, thanks so much💯👍

Nice job very simple yes very effective is people like you that help other people from your videos keep spreading the knowledge thank you

When I did mine I put a gable vent in the opposite end of my attic so the fan would draw relatively cooler outside air through the entire length of my attic.

Thank you so much for the video. Also, that wire trap was a really good idea.

I love the extension cord idea. Better than running separate wire.

I had the same issue with my home, I removed one of my soffit vents and found the holes were 4"x 8" way too small. I used a license plate 7 x 10" approx for a template and enlarged the soffit vents on three sides of the house couldn't reach the 4th side, installed new 8" x 16" soffit vent screen. Attic temp dropped 20 degs from improved air flow, later when I replaced the roof had the roofer install tan shingles (matched the house color) temp dropped another 20 degs . So consider those soffit vents to improve flow too, screens are cheap

This is great, I might recommend not oversizing the fan this much. This will use more power than you need to use to move the air through the attic. But that is a very small issue. Nice work man, looks great!

Great video, I had the same situation with my attic after the 20k roofing job the guy telling me you will not need a attic fan any longer .thank you for the video this is my next project

Excellent video, sir. Now I have an idea on how to tackle replacing my ancient attic fan. Great info on stripping extension cord. Never would have thought of that (since mine is plugged into an outlet as well). Also, didn't realize the impact on rooms below. Double thumbs up!

Cool video. Great job. I'm chasing out some squirrels from my attic. Ceiling had no access whatsoever. I think they insulated it from above before re-roofing. Crazy. Installed a decent Werner attic ladder, and hauled out a ton of soiled insulation. I'm thinking of adding some R-13 to the roof with vent trays, and soffit vents, and keeping R-13 in ceiling, with 1/2 or 5/8 plywood decking, and building insulation box around attic stairs. It's very shallow, but should help with 'some' added storage. I think a fan will help in summer, and vent trays should keep condensation low in winter. Any thoughts welcome.

Ridge vents work great as long as your eave vents are sufficient.

Passive roof vents, ridge vents etc. are better than nothing, but an electrically powered (non-solar) attic fan that's properly sized and installed is the best solution. I've put one in every house I've owed in the past 30 years. Saves on cooling costs and makes the house much more comfortable in summer. The technology has improved as well. My new fan has a 3-speed DC motor that I can control and monitor from my cell phone--whisper quiet too.

That was so satisfying to watch!

I live in the Phoenix area and installed one a few years ago. I did hardwire mine with a switch that I can turn off when needed. One other thing is I fastened some heavy gauge metal mesh screen to the back for hand and finger protection.

Roofers and other trades look at venting backwards. Yes.. minimum air flow.. to prevent moisture buildup. But remove excess heat.. it won't radiate heat so much into the house. It makes your shingles last longer. Makes it more comfortable to be In attic. If you use for storage.. less damage of baking the items.

Great post. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you for showing us how to have a cooler attic

Possible problems are sucking the ac from inside the house. Also for optimal cross flow, the ridge vent should be removed and and intake installed on the opposite side of the attic. Also, don't be surprised if the electric motor doesn't last long working in the heat. I chose to install whirlybirds to augment the ridge vent. This works if they are about the same level as the ridge near the top. The soffit intakes should be numerous and kept clean. I have 4 whirlybirds and ten feet of ridge vent in south Louisiana for 2000 sq ft and it keeps it about 120° when its 95 out in summer sun. Cools down fast enough. Love lomanco ball bearing whirlies properly installed, no power, and wont suck inside air and they are quiet.

Same thing with me....I live in Florida and the roofer told me that I didn’t need a fan because of the ridge vent. I’m going install one myself too.

I did the same thing several years ago. I removed every other louver fin and doubled the length of the remaining ones with 1/4x2" flats to minimize rain intrusion.

Great video. I'll be installing one in my much needed attic!

An attic fan around here is a very large fan placed in the attic to draw air from inside the house proper and expel it outside. Cooling the house at night appreciatively. Usually placed in the ceiling of a hallway . Very popular before AC became so ubiquitous. You would close your windows to an inch or 2 crack and the fan would suck cooler outside air into the house.

I would suggest stapling a radiant barrier on the bottom edge of the roof rafters and adding insulation to the wall where the fan is installed. You may also want to remove the stored items and add insulation to the ceiling, then enclose part of it with plywood for your storage area. Note that spray foam insulation will seal air leaks and insulate using just one product, and it can be used in the walls and ceiling. Be sure any can lights you have are insulation-contact (IC) rated.

Great video. Thanks for making and posting!

I hate to tell y'all this, but "you don't need an attic fan". I do building energy simulations (usually for large projects), and I turned that experience into an examination of what happens in an attic, and specifically the application of attic fans. Bottom line: the attic fan uses about the same amount of energy as you save on reduced air conditioning use. If you use the money and time to increase the thickness of ceiling insulation, the net benefit is much greater. IOW, you don't really care how hot is the attic (with some rare exceptions) if the heat doesn't penetrate the insulating barrier.

Very good i love dIy someone tried too teach me how to fix things once but they dead now i love youtube

Good video. I guess, if you had attached the fan by sending it through the hole and screwing it on the other side of the plywood, you could have minimized that gap (which you sealed using the aluminium tape). Besides more stability against the wind force when the fan is running.

Thanks for the lesson. I'm going to do the same for my attic.

Have a double wide mobile home in Florida we purchased as a fixer upper/retirement home. We had new roof, big roof vent, and new HVAC, ductwork with floor vents installed. Still gets warm in the kitchen area, ceiling warm to the touch as you stated. My plan is to cut an access on both gables, big enough a person can squeeze in, blow in new insulation, and do a fan similar to yours on one end with vents on both sides. Hoping for a dramatic improvement!

I am not an expert in residential construction but I am a licensed mechanical engineer. Simply considering the laws of thermodynamics I would recommend changing the flow of that fan so that it draws air into the attic instead of pulling air out, especially if it is mounted on the side of your home with all the shade from those big trees. This would work with the principle that hot air rises and would blow the hottest are in the Attic out the gable vent instead of drawing that hotter air back down into the attic space. I would be very interested to hear some feedback from you weather blowing that fan in or out of the attic reduces the overall temperature in the Attic more. Thanks.

a few years i put one these in my shop. you never really know how much they help until it stops working. now i get to buy and install another one.

Very nice instructions and build!

Great walk through!!

Ya gotta listen to a guy wearing a Jimmy Hendrix shirt!!

Saves shingle warping from heat

My man. I NEED to do this and just might next weekend. Our attic area is fully open with rafters like yours. No roof top vents or fans, 1 small gable end vent, not as big as yours and it is triangle shaped but I bet I can find a fan that will fit the area. We can feel the heat radiating down from the ceiling into my wife's office & our bedroom. We have no a/c, other than 2 portable ones in each room that will end up running all night due to the attic heat radiating downward. I was up in it before noon the other day & it was about 140-150 up there. Awesome DIY.

I need to do this. Thanks for the great video. I've got a venting ridge gap but it's not enough 👍👌❣️

That saw!

With a ridge vent and SUFFICIENT soffit intake air vents, problem solved. The fan is just creating a vacuum. There has to be make-up air.

This will be my summer project thanks.

I found this informative. Just bought a fixer upper in Texas with a metal roof. Definitely considering this option. House faces East. Exhaust should exit North. Two fans would even be better. Draw fan on the South side. Exhaust on the North.

Roofer took my mushroom style electric fan out, too hot in the attic now. I don't have central air so going to put a gable fan in.

Have you considered adding a radiant barrier to the attic? Not sure what part of the country your in, but if it gets not there for an extended time it might be something to consider. Also not very expensive, maybe $200 depending on amount of sqft needed and what product/brand. Thanks for the video. Simple to the point and no b.s.

Thanks for the great video! I have one of those fans and will be doing a similar installation real soon. One note on your beginning and ending .... you said at the end it was a week later from the intro and that's crazy cool that the clouds are in the same place as in the beginning of the video! :)

Thank you for the diy about the extension cord- my house is in constant sun- I'm up for this and can't wait to see if my house will get below 82 degrees on those 97 degree days! Wish my A/C guy would have listen to me about the heat gain :/