[z]

got a remote reading thermometer and stashed it in the attic to see
what's happening. now i'm wondering what i should expect.

normalish 50 year old ranch house, connecticut. 1500 sq feet more or
less. old central AC, not particularly powerful or efficient. normal
amount of insulation, i.e. less than would be optimum but normal for
the period. powered vent fan, mushroom style. soffit vents, gable
vents, etc.

on the wise advice proferred here last year, i upped the temp on the
thermostat for the vent fan from 80 degree to about 100 IIRC.

OK; so during the final months of winter, when i had the thermometer,
there was a maximum of about 20 degrees difference between the house
and the attic.

lately, when it's warm, often 20 degrees difference, obviously in the
opposite direction. during a hot spell last week, when it was 90+
outside, attic got up to 120; house got up to 87 (AC off during
daytime).

so, is this reasonable/expected for powered attic vent? would bigger
fan do better?

[Red Green]

"Joseph Meehan" wrote in
:

Different areas of the world get different results and certainly
different vents (inlets) make for differences in results.

Frankly I have not found that power vents are of much if any use.
Proper generous static venting seems to work just as well without
noise and electricity. The worse situations I have seen is when power
vents end up disrupting the natural flow and can even increase the
temperature.

The real differences I have seen is poorly vented areas.

Overall yours does not seem to be bad.

If you really want to do something make sure it has inlets greater
than
the minimum required and that the fan is not short circuiting the
natural air flow.

or sucking the AC out of the house via access, vents (stupidly)
terminating in the attic, etc.


"z" wrote in message
.
..
got a remote reading thermometer and stashed it in the attic to see
what's happening. now i'm wondering what i should expect.

normalish 50 year old ranch house, connecticut. 1500 sq feet more or
less. old central AC, not particularly powerful or efficient. normal
amount of insulation, i.e. less than would be optimum but normal for
the period. powered vent fan, mushroom style. soffit vents, gable
vents, etc.

on the wise advice proferred here last year, i upped the temp on the
thermostat for the vent fan from 80 degree to about 100 IIRC.

OK; so during the final months of winter, when i had the
thermometer, there was a maximum of about 20 degrees difference
between the house and the attic.

lately, when it's warm, often 20 degrees difference, obviously in the
opposite direction. during a hot spell last week, when it was 90+
outside, attic got up to 120; house got up to 87 (AC off during
daytime).

so, is this reasonable/expected for powered attic vent? would bigger
fan do better?

[[email protected]]

On Jun 16, 9:01*pm, Red Green wrote:
"Joseph Meehan" wrote :





* * Different areas of the world get different results and certainly
different vents (inlets) make for differences in results.

* * Frankly I have not found that power vents are of much if any use..
Proper generous static venting seems to work just as well without
noise and electricity. *The worse situations I have seen is when power
vents end up disrupting the natural flow and can even increase the
temperature.

* * The real differences I have seen is poorly vented areas.

* * Overall yours does not seem to be bad.

* * If you really want to do something make sure it has inlets greater
* * than
the minimum required and that the fan is not short circuiting the
natural air flow.

or sucking the AC out of the house via access, vents (stupidly)
terminating in the attic, etc.





"z" wrote in message
.
..
got a remote reading thermometer and stashed it in the attic to see
what's happening. now i'm wondering what i should expect.

normalish 50 year old ranch house, connecticut. 1500 sq feet more or
less. old central AC, not particularly powerful or efficient. normal
amount of insulation, i.e. less than would be optimum but normal for
the period. powered vent fan, mushroom style. soffit vents, gable
vents, etc.

on the wise advice proferred here last year, i upped the temp on the
thermostat for the vent fan from 80 degree to about 100 IIRC.

OK; so during the final months of *winter, when i had the
thermometer, there was a maximum of about 20 degrees difference
between the house and the attic.

lately, when it's warm, often 20 degrees difference, obviously in the
opposite direction. during a hot spell last week, when it was 90+
outside, attic got up to 120; house got up to 87 (AC off during
daytime).

so, is this reasonable/expected for powered attic vent? would bigger
fan do better?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


He doesn't say what the temp was outside during the final days of
winter, but if the temp diff between the attic and the house was only
20 deg, I hope it was not very cold outside, as that means the attic
was at about 50 deg. If it was cold outside, I'd expect a much
bigger temp difference between the attic and the inside of the
house.

Probably the best thing that could be done here is to increase the
amount of attic insulation. That will do a lot more to keep attic
heat out of the house than installing a bigger fan. Plus you get
benefit not only in summer, but also with reduced heat loss in the
winter.

I also second the advice to make sure there is adequate intake
opening, ie soffit, gable, etc. If there isn't, you not only reduce
the cooling capaciyt, but you can be sucking air from inside the house
through any gaps, openings around fixtures, etc.

[z]

On Jun 17, 12:08*pm, wrote:
On Jun 16, 9:01*pm, Red Green wrote:





"Joseph Meehan" wrote :

* * Different areas of the world get different results and certainly
different vents (inlets) make for differences in results.

* * Frankly I have not found that power vents are of much if any use.
Proper generous static venting seems to work just as well without
noise and electricity. *The worse situations I have seen is when power
vents end up disrupting the natural flow and can even increase the
temperature.

* * The real differences I have seen is poorly vented areas.

* * Overall yours does not seem to be bad.

* * If you really want to do something make sure it has inlets greater
* * than
the minimum required and that thefanis not short circuiting the
natural air flow.

or sucking the AC out of the house via access, vents (stupidly)
terminating in theattic, etc.

"z" wrote in message
..
..
got a remote reading thermometer and stashed it in theatticto see
what's happening. now i'm wondering what i should expect.

normalish 50 year old ranch house, connecticut. 1500 sq feet more or
less. old central AC, not particularly powerful or efficient. normal
amount of insulation, i.e. less than would be optimum but normal for
the period. powered ventfan, mushroom style. soffit vents, gable
vents, etc.

on the wise advice proferred here last year, i upped the temp on the
thermostat for the ventfanfrom 80 degree to about 100 IIRC.

OK; so during the final months of *winter, when i had the
thermometer, there was a maximum of about 20 degrees difference
between the house and theattic.

lately, when it's warm, often 20 degrees difference, obviously in the
opposite direction. during a hot spell last week, when it was 90+
outside,atticgot up to 120; house got up to 87 (AC off during
daytime).

so, is this reasonable/expected for poweredatticvent? would bigger
fando better?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

He doesn't say what the temp was outside during the final days of
winter, but if the temp diff between theatticand the house was only
20 deg, I hope it was not very cold outside, as that means theattic
was at about 50 deg. * *If it was cold outside, *I'd expect a much
bigger temp difference between theatticand the inside of the
house.

Probably the best thing that could be done here is to increase the
amount ofatticinsulation. * That will do a lot more to keepattic
heat out of the house than installing a biggerfan. * Plus you get
benefit not only in summer, but also with reduced heat loss in the
winter.

I also second the advice to make sure there is adequate intake
opening, ie soffit, gable, etc. * If there isn't, you not only reduce
the cooling capaciyt, but you can be sucking air from inside the house
through any gaps, openings around fixtures, etc.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

i was afraid you'd say something like that. is installing more
insulation as big a PIA as it looks? to make it worse, the previous
dwellers laid plywood over the joists to provide flooring for storage.
at least they didn't bother to fasten it down.

[Red Green]

z wrote in
:

On Jun 17, 12:08*pm, wrote:
On Jun 16, 9:01*pm, Red Green wrote:





"Joseph Meehan" wrote
innews:4856aa0b$0$30
:

* * Different areas of the world get different results and certai
nly
different vents (inlets) make for differences in results.

* * Frankly I have not found that power vents are of much if any
use.
Proper generous static venting seems to work just as well without
noise and electricity. *The worse situations I have seen is when
po
wer
vents end up disrupting the natural flow and can even increase
the temperature.

* * The real differences I have seen is poorly vented areas.

* * Overall yours does not seem to be bad.

* * If you really want to do something make sure it has inlets gr
eater
* * than
the minimum required and that thefanis not short circuiting the
natural air flow.

or sucking the AC out of the house via access, vents (stupidly)
terminating in theattic, etc.

"z" wrote in message
.
com
.
..
got a remote reading thermometer and stashed it in theatticto
see what's happening. now i'm wondering what i should expect.

normalish 50 year old ranch house, connecticut. 1500 sq feet
more or less. old central AC, not particularly powerful or
efficient. normal amount of insulation, i.e. less than would be
optimum but normal for the period. powered ventfan, mushroom
style. soffit vents, gable vents, etc.

on the wise advice proferred here last year, i upped the temp on
the thermostat for the ventfanfrom 80 degree to about 100 IIRC.

OK; so during the final months of *winter, when i had the
thermometer, there was a maximum of about 20 degrees difference
between the house and theattic.

lately, when it's warm, often 20 degrees difference, obviously
in th
e
opposite direction. during a hot spell last week, when it was
90+ outside,atticgot up to 120; house got up to 87 (AC off
during daytime).

so, is this reasonable/expected for poweredatticvent? would
bigger
fando better?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

He doesn't say what the temp was outside during the final days of
winter, but if the temp diff between theatticand the house was only
20 deg, I hope it was not very cold outside, as that means theattic
was at about 50 deg. * *If it was cold outside, *I'd expect a much
bigger temp difference between theatticand the inside of the
house.

Probably the best thing that could be done here is to increase the
amount ofatticinsulation. * That will do a lot more to keepattic
heat out of the house than installing a biggerfan. * Plus you get
benefit not only in summer, but also with reduced heat loss in the
winter.

I also second the advice to make sure there is adequate intake
opening, ie soffit, gable, etc. * If there isn't, you not only reduce
the cooling capaciyt, but you can be sucking air from inside the
house through any gaps, openings around fixtures, etc.- Hide quoted
text -

- Show quoted text -

i was afraid you'd say something like that. is installing more
insulation as big a PIA as it looks? to make it worse, the previous
dwellers laid plywood over the joists to provide flooring for storage.
at least they didn't bother to fasten it down.



the previous dwellers laid plywood over the joists

This comment may be a whole new ballgame you know.

If the insulation was any thicker than the ceiling joists/bottom truss
chord and they put plywood over it and compressed it, they have reduced
the r-factor of your attic insulation. Insulation works because of the
air within it. Depending on how much it was crushed depends on how much
it reduced it.

Were there areas of no plywood? What's the insulation scoop there?

[z]

On Jun 18, 7:59*pm, Red Green wrote:
z wrote :





On Jun 17, 12:08*pm, wrote:
On Jun 16, 9:01*pm, Red Green wrote:

"Joseph Meehan" wrote
innews:4856aa0b$0$30
:

* * Different areas of the world get different results and certai
nly
different vents (inlets) make for differences in results.

* * Frankly I have not found that power vents are of much if any
use.
Proper generous static venting seems to work just as well without
noise and electricity. *The worse situations I have seen is when
po
wer
vents end up disrupting the natural flow and can even increase
the temperature.

* * The real differences I have seen is poorly vented areas.

* * Overall yours does not seem to be bad.

* * If you really want to do something make sure it has inlets gr
eater
* * than
the minimum required and that thefanis not short circuiting the
natural air flow.

or sucking the AC out of the house via access, vents (stupidly)
terminating in theattic, etc.

"z" wrote in message
.
com
.
..
got a remote reading thermometer and stashed it in theatticto
see what's happening. now i'm wondering what i should expect.

normalish 50 year old ranch house, connecticut. 1500 sq feet
more or less. old central AC, not particularly powerful or
efficient. normal amount of insulation, i.e. less than would be
optimum but normal for the period. powered ventfan, mushroom
style. soffit vents, gable vents, etc.

on the wise advice proferred here last year, i upped the temp on
the thermostat for the ventfanfrom 80 degree to about 100 IIRC.

OK; so during the final months of *winter, when i had the
thermometer, there was a maximum of about 20 degrees difference
between the house and theattic.

lately, when it's warm, often 20 degrees difference, obviously
in th
e
opposite direction. during a hot spell last week, when it was
90+ outside,atticgot up to 120; house got up to 87 (AC off
during daytime).

so, is this reasonable/expected for poweredatticvent? would
bigger
fando better?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

He doesn't say what the temp was outside during the final days of
winter, but if the temp diff between theatticand the house was only
20 deg, I hope it was not very cold outside, as that means theattic
was at about 50 deg. * *If it was cold outside, *I'd expect a much
bigger temp difference between theatticand the inside of the
house.

Probably the best thing that could be done here is to increase the
amount ofatticinsulation. * That will do a lot more to keepattic
heat out of the house than installing a biggerfan. * Plus you get
benefit not only in summer, but also with reduced heat loss in the
winter.

I also second the advice to make sure there is adequate intake
opening, ie soffit, gable, etc. * If there isn't, you not only reduce
the cooling capaciyt, but you can be sucking air from inside the
house through any gaps, openings around fixtures, etc.- Hide quoted
text -

- Show quoted text -

i was afraid you'd say something like that. is installing more
insulation as big a PIA as it looks? to make it worse, the previous
dwellers laid plywood over the joists to provide flooring for storage.
at least they didn't bother to fasten it down.
the previous dwellers laid plywood over the joists

This comment may be a whole new ballgame you know.

If the insulation was any thicker than the ceiling joists/bottom truss
chord and they put plywood over it and compressed it, they have reduced
the r-factor of your attic insulation. Insulation works because of the
air within it. Depending on how much it was crushed depends on how much
it reduced it.

Were there areas of no plywood? What's the insulation scoop there?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

yeah, i thought of that, but as far as i can tell, the insulation just
was installed up to the top of the joists, maybe on purpose so they
could use storage space. i think i'll store my collection of valuable
antique paraffin wax sculptures and vinyl records up there.

[[email protected]]

On Jun 18, 4:17*pm, z wrote:
On Jun 17, 12:08*pm, wrote:





On Jun 16, 9:01*pm, Red Green wrote:

"Joseph Meehan" wrote :

* * Different areas of the world get different results and certainly
different vents (inlets) make for differences in results.

* * Frankly I have not found that power vents are of much if any use.
Proper generous static venting seems to work just as well without
noise and electricity. *The worse situations I have seen is when power
vents end up disrupting the natural flow and can even increase the
temperature.

* * The real differences I have seen is poorly vented areas.

* * Overall yours does not seem to be bad.

* * If you really want to do something make sure it has inlets greater
* * than
the minimum required and that thefanis not short circuiting the
natural air flow.

or sucking the AC out of the house via access, vents (stupidly)
terminating in theattic, etc.

"z" wrote in message
.
..
got a remote reading thermometer and stashed it in theatticto see
what's happening. now i'm wondering what i should expect.

normalish 50 year old ranch house, connecticut. 1500 sq feet more or
less. old central AC, not particularly powerful or efficient. normal
amount of insulation, i.e. less than would be optimum but normal for
the period. powered ventfan, mushroom style. soffit vents, gable
vents, etc.

on the wise advice proferred here last year, i upped the temp on the
thermostat for the ventfanfrom 80 degree to about 100 IIRC.

OK; so during the final months of *winter, when i had the
thermometer, there was a maximum of about 20 degrees difference
between the house and theattic.

lately, when it's warm, often 20 degrees difference, obviously in the
opposite direction. during a hot spell last week, when it was 90+
outside,atticgot up to 120; house got up to 87 (AC off during
daytime).

so, is this reasonable/expected for poweredatticvent? would bigger
fando better?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

He doesn't say what the temp was outside during the final days of
winter, but if the temp diff between theatticand the house was only
20 deg, I hope it was not very cold outside, as that means theattic
was at about 50 deg. * *If it was cold outside, *I'd expect a much
bigger temp difference between theatticand the inside of the
house.

Probably the best thing that could be done here is to increase the
amount ofatticinsulation. * That will do a lot more to keepattic
heat out of the house than installing a biggerfan. * Plus you get
benefit not only in summer, but also with reduced heat loss in the
winter.

I also second the advice to make sure there is adequate intake
opening, ie soffit, gable, etc. * If there isn't, you not only reduce
the cooling capaciyt, but you can be sucking air from inside the house
through any gaps, openings around fixtures, etc.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

i was afraid you'd say something like that. is installing more
insulation as big a PIA as it looks? to make it worse, the previous
dwellers laid plywood over the joists to provide flooring for storage.
at least they didn't bother to fasten it down.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Since the plywood is not nailed down, it should be relatively easy to
add more insulation. However, you will lose the storage space,
unless you can do some additional framing and add the plywood back at
a higher level. For the insulation to work, it can't be compressed,
so you can't shove more of it in then have the plywood squeeze it back
down.