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submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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General info: Looking to get current attic ventilator fan replaced. The attic is about 1400 sq. ft. Current attic ventilation fan is a foot from the ridge of the roof. Live in USA.

Handyman wants: To install two 1500 CFM fans. Two 120 volt 20amp dedicated circuits, one for each fan. He wants to install the second fan 4 feet away from the current fan. He stated that the attic ventilator fan would need to be replaced within 6 years.

My questions: Would two fans be better than one fan? Would I need two 120 volt circuits to run two fans? Is there an attic ventilator that has a user replaceable fan?

Thank you in advance for any help.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

So the product he is installing, on Amazon, says it runs off 120 volts. Here is the link to the amazon listing.

https://www.amazon.com/Master-Erv6smww-Power-Mount-Ventilators/dp/B01AA6Y2YS

I appreciate your comment, and I agree and understand that some appliances function better off of 240 volts, but with this extra context, wouldn't this particular fan not benefit from a 240 volt line because the unit is only rate to operate at 120 volts? I believe this would damage the fan, or outright destroy it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

So with the whole 240/120 thing you're talking about phases. These are basically electrical currents that function like wavelengths, operating at specific frequencies. The amperage basically says how much punch that phase/frequency can have.

If you put two twenty Amp circuits on the same neutral. The electricity will pass through both motors, and come back to the panel. The panel will read that those breakers are putting out more than 20A and trip the breakers.

BUT

If you put those breakers on different phases, the wavelengths alternate. Instead of really high peaks and valleys, there are more frequently occurring similar ones. So the breakers will read with in limits, and function. This is called sharing a neutral

What your guy is trying to do, is save a lot of work, and some money on material. Instead of running two wires, he's trying to share neutrals.