These fan leaks are dangerous. If you find that the attic fan is leaking, it is important that you fix the problem as soon as possible. Continuous leaks can be dangerous for a number of reasons. On the one hand, this leak will inevitably cause damage to the roof, causing it to darken and bubble.
Attic ventilation is an important part of building a home, but most homes don't have ventilation or don't have enough. Inadequate attic ventilation can lead to a number of problems, and roof leaks are among the most common. Attic ventilation fans protect your attic from mold and mildew, help cool your home, and can make your roof last longer. They will also prevent ice from building up and can drive toxic fumes out of your home.
But attic fans can cause roof leaks and cold air loss if installed incorrectly, and the constant hum can be annoying for some people. Even though an attic exhaust fan can gradually reduce the temperature of a very hot attic, using a fan does not stop the radiant heat source. During the day, any cooler air introduced by the fan will be immediately heated by the surrounding structure. At night, after the sun's radiation source stops, the structure will remain warm for some time.
Any cooler air brought in from outside will eventually lower the temperature of the attic structure, but that will happen VERY slowly. As soon as the sun rises in the morning, the radiant heating process will begin again. We found that only when it rains with a strong wind (such as the beginning of the thunderstorm) does water seep through the attic exhaust area. I'm not sure if rain comes in through the opening under the fan hood or somewhere else.
If you would like to get into the details of research on attics, you can download this document (pdf) from the Florida Solar Energy Center which reviews research not only on attic ventilation, but also on attics sealed with insulation on the roof line instead of the flat roof. Sufficient vents should be installed in the attic to exhaust air without creating high pressures against which the fan must operate. I challenge you to a battle of applied knowledge in this field any day, it's people like you who make people who need an attic fan ask themselves without talking to a real professional. Even a typical storm can cause a leak if the attic fan is not properly installed, and this increases during high winds and major storms.
Maybe if my house were a contact with the ground, with ground temperatures hovering around 70F, an attic fan would be out of the question. Mark, as Allison said, TwoMark, as Allison said, two fans *can* prevent attic depressurization, but if one fan isn't cost-effective, adding another makes even less sense. A broken attic fan has more headroom to allow unwanted heat to escape than all the ridge vent you could install. If you have appliances that burn natural gas (or propane), such as water heaters or ovens, installing an electric attic fan can cause carbon monoxide poisoning.
For example, if you have an attic that not only has no ventilation, but has roof line insulation, tile temperatures will be as high as possible because you are minimizing conductive heat flow to the attic. I was told that the 2 attic vents are the only attic ventilation I have (the house has ventilated panels, all other soffit covers are ventilated). .
