What You Should Know About Properly Ventilating Your Garage

by George Karonis

Garages tend to be neglected often. People often use them as storage units or second-rate rooms in their houses. While this is okay, if you're not properly ventilating your garage, it can be damaging.

Bad garage ventilation is not ideal for two significant reasons.

  1. Chemicals and fumes that come from your vehicle, tools and machinery you run inside your garage are harmful if they seep into your house.
  2. The build-up of heat during the summer months in an attached garage can also make your home uncomfortable. The same thing occurs in winter.

So, how can you properly ventilate your garage?

  1. Garage Exhaust Fan

A garage exhaust fan, like the QuietCool GA ES-1500, ventilates VOC gases or odors that can build-up and pollue your garage outside. These fans draw out the polluted air and force it out. The garage air is then left much healthier and fresher.

Some people think that because their home doesn't have an entry door, fumes won't be a problem. But, if you have an HVAC system in your garage, fumes could enter your house through unsealed ductwork. And, you still want to install a garage exhaust fan even if you have a whole house fan.  Think about it, each time you drive your car into your garage and shut the garage door, the exhaust fumes linger and build-up inside. Garage exhaust fans can also control humidity and heat in a garage.

  1. Door Vents

An easier, but not as efficient measure, is installing vents in the door — one set low, one set high — that can passively ventilated as they pull air currents through the vents of different temperatures. Remember that vents aren't the best choice if you live in a colder climate and are looking to keep your garage well-insulated in the wintertime, or if you wish to ventilate the entire space.

  1. Turbine Vent

If your garage is above-ground and is detached with a flat roof, the simplest fix is installing a turbine vent on your roof and letting the rotation pull out air. Turbine fans are favorable since they don't need to spin off electrical power — the wind handles this. Just be sure you hire a roofer to make sure it has a totally weatherproof seal.

Proper garage ventilation doesn't need to intimidate you. You have various options you can explore for ventilation once you understand and grasp the basics of your garage design.

Call us here at WholeHouseFan.com 1.888-229-5757 if you have any questions about adding a garage exhaust fan to your home.

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