Garage ventilation is important today, when garages are usually kept closed for security and only opened to drive a vehicle in or out. Fresh air circulation is brief and infrequent, so the garage interior stagnates and temperatures swing to upper and lower extremes. Here are a few specific reasons why installing a garage ventilation fan is economical protection to support your home’s healthy air quality as well as indoor comfort.
- Inside an attached garage, fumes from stored paints, chemicals, pesticides and other toxics can accumulate to levels high enough to infiltrate the house. Fumes may gradually seep into the house through the myriad tiny structural cracks and gaps that occur between joints in any home, or simply when the access door to the house is opened and closed.
- Carbon monoxide is even more insidious. This colorless odorless gas can concentrate inside a garage after vehicles are started or returned to the garage. The molecular density of carbon monoxide gas is so low that it can permeate directly through gypsum wallboard, the common building material separating household living spaces from the garage.
- Another good reason for adequate garage ventilation is heat. Temperatures inside an unconditioned garage can soar during summer. Heat energy radiates through the wall of an attached garage and into living spaces, adding extra load to the cooling function of your air conditioner. The A/C runs longer cycles to compensate and operating costs rise.
A garage ventilation fan professionally installed in an exterior wall ventilates directly to the outdoors. Activation of the fan can be controlled by one of several methods. A timer can turn the fan on and off at programmed times daily, plus incorporate a manual option to turn the fan on at any time with auto-off feature. Another alternative is a motion sensor can also be utilized to operate the fan whenever anyone enters the garage or a vehicle moves. Temperature inside the garage can also be a trigger that activates the on/off function of the fan.
For more about the benefits of a garage ventilation fan, in Dayton contact Ace Hardware Home Services.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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