Attic Fan Running Nonstop? Here's Why That's a Problem

An attic fan that never shuts off sounds like it's working hard for you. It's not. It's running up your electric bill, wearing out the motor, and doing it all because something was wired or set up wrong from the start. That's exactly what we found here.

The homeowner noticed the fan was just - always on. Didn't matter the time of day or how cool it got at night. It never cycled off. When we got up there, the electrical wiring wasn't correct and the thermostat hadn't been set up properly. The fan had no way to know when to stop.

Here's what the fix actually involved. We corrected the electrical connections and ran a dedicated circuit - labeled Circuit 20 - so the fan has its own clean power source with nothing else competing on the line. Then we got the adjustable thermostat dialed in so the fan kicks on when attic temps climb and shuts itself off once things cool down. That's how it's supposed to work.

A properly functioning attic fan is one of the better tools a home has for managing heat buildup. But only when it's set up right. When the thermostat and wiring are both off, you don't get the benefit - you just get a motor that runs forever and an energy bill that shows it.

If something in your home seems like it's working harder than it should, that's usually a sign worth paying attention to. These aren't always dramatic problems. Sometimes it's just a thermostat that was never set correctly or a circuit that wasn't wired right the first time. Either way, it's worth a look.