Radon air systems pull radon gas from under the concrete floor of your home through a fan driven venting system made out of PVC pipe. The fan is a low wattage device similar to a bathroom fan except it is very quiet. There’s virtually no maintenance with radon air systems.
“Passive radon venting” is sometimes suggested as a solution to remove radon from under the slab of your home. This is essentially a radon removal system without the fan. Unfortunately, passive sub slab radon venting doesn’t work because a fan is required to create negative pressure in the ground that will push air under the slab out the vent pipe.
There is not much cost difference between a sub slab radon venting system with or without a fan. The difference is one works and the other one doesn’t. When a fan is installed, it must be installed outside, in the attic, or an unfinished garage. It should not be installed in the basement or anywhere inside the home because a frozen or plugged vent can cause the radon to be discharged back into the house through the fan unit.
