portable solar powered air conditioner

portable solar powered air conditioner

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Solar attic ventilation is a great way to introduce both energy efficiency and alternative energy into your home in a simple and affordable way.

How does it work?

This is a pretty simple system. In the most basic terms, an attic fan is powered by a small photovoltaic solar panel. The solar panel provides the renewable energy, and the cooling capacity of the attic fan provides the energy efficiency by reducing the demand on the homes air conditioning system.

A cooler attic allows your air conditioner to work more effectively, focusing its effort on the space you live in, rather than the added work of cooling a hot attic space (warm attic air will migrate to cool spaces even when there is insulation separating the spaces).

Solar powered attic fans are an efficient way of improving your attic ventilation with a mechanical system (the fan) powered by renewable energy. Even roofs that are well ventilated can benefit from mechanical ventilation.

Why is roof ventilation important?

There are many areas that are effected by poor roof ventilation, including:

• Air Conditioning Cooling loads
• Quality of Indoor Air
• Life Span of Materials
• Ice Damns and Water Damage

In warm weather months an overheated attic will lead to increased demand on your air conditioning system as the heat from the attic will move to the cooler areas of your house.

Overly moist and warm air which is not vented out of the attic will also effect the air quality of the house (often via mold and mildew). An overheated attic will also shorten the life span for roof shingles. And a roof which is too warm in cold weather months, often will lead to excessive snow melt, ice damns, and even water damage.

The big advantages of solar attic ventilation:

• It's relatively inexpensive (about $400-$500 per unit).
• It uses renewable energy (the sun).
• It costs nothing to operate.
• It reduces other energy needs (a great benefit).
• It improves the home's air quality.
• It extends the life of your roof.
• It's easy to install.

Installation and retrofits:

These units are relatively easy to install, often taking only about 30 minutes to put in. And a big plus: they don't require any electrical connection beyond connecting the fan to the solar panel.

You can even get units to convert existing fans to solar power. This is a great for attics which already have roof or gable fans which can be removed from electrical power and converted to free solar energy. It's as easy as connecting the small solar panel to the existing fan.

Start on the path to renewable energy and energy efficiency by adding a solar attic ventilation fan to your home today!

Paul Mahoney is the editor of [http://www.alternative-energy-at-home.com] the independent guide to using alternative and renewable energy in and around your home. More information about ideas such as wind energy, geothermal energy, and solar energy, including low cost solar panels (how about solar panels for your entire home for as little as $1,000?) can be found at [http://www.alternative-energy-at-home.com/low-cost-solar-panels.html] - Copyright: you may freely republish this article, provided the text, author credit, and active links and this copyright notice remain intact.

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