Turbine vent vs dormer vs turtleback (roof, Home Depot, heat, installing)
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We are having new vents installed on our roof. We are choosing between turbine, dormer or turtleback. I have read up as much as I can on the subject and i am not 100% on which to choose. We are looking for the option that works the best. Thanks!
Depends on the configuration of your roof.
I'm not a big fan of turbine vents.
Gable vents will work if the length of your attic is not too long.
I'm not familiar with the term turtleback, but I'll guess you mean ridge vents. Ridge vents work well, but you have to have vents in the soffits or eaves for them to work.
If you have dormers, and they are vented, they will work just like gable vents.
You can also install power vents that are thermostat controlled (they go on when it gets hot enough). They work well, but have a life span of about 10 years.
Hi Roman45,
Have a vent at each gable and put your turtle or dormer roof vents in on opposite sides of the roof (if possible) with one set closer to the top than the other.
I do not like the turtle type vents as much as they can accumulate debris behind them (more so than a dormer style) and you have to reach in there to clean it out properly.
Bear in mind that any vent can also act as an intact drawing unwanted cold air in during the winter months! So check out some localized attic insulation and ventilation info before you start. That being said, in the Southwest, the bigger the vent the better. You will notice that there are a couple different sizes of most vents.
Also, roof vents can be sources of water intrusion, so make sure you impart that concern to your roofer!
Wind powered "turbine" ventilators are kind of terrible for residential use. The invariably have bearings that break / could bad in the worst possible weather. They are noisy and rarely move enough air when conditions in the attic space most need air movement -- no matter if you are talking about hottest weather or times when the moisture build-in in the attic is worst.
Tests from independent third party agencies / labs fail to show the real world benefits of ridge vents -- most experienced roofers practical experience also bear out the problems that of ridge vents also outweigh their benefit.
Good post Chet,
I don't think most folks can even buy a turbine with actual bearings! I think the turtle vents the OP was talking about are indeed passive. Solar or 110 volt fans are simply not worth it as you point out.
This Ventilators look just like what I have on my roof (builders installed). However, I think the thermostat is set too low, so if I flip the switch on, it'd run all day non-stop. What I did last summer was manually turning the fan on / off .... I'd let it run for 10-15 min increments every hour or so in the afternoon.
Wondering what is the thermostat setting supposed to be set to?
The roof also has soffit/ridge vents. Attic area is about 750 sq ft with a height of about 8 ft at the highest point.
This Ventilators look just like what I have on my roof (builders installed). However, I think the thermostat is set too low, so if I flip the switch on, it'd run all day non-stop. What I did last summer was manually turning the fan on / off .... I'd let it run for 10-15 min increments every hour or so in the afternoon.
Wondering what is the thermostat setting supposed to be set to?
The roof also has soffit/ridge vents. Attic area is about 750 sq ft with a height of about 8 ft at the highest point.
T-stat should be set at about 110
AND- if you have a power roof ventilator AND a ridge vent you aren't EFFIECENTLY ventilating your attic. Instead of air being pulled from the soffit vents, the power vent is just PULLING air from the ridge vent!
I wish roofers would stop being ventilation experts- because theyre NOT!
AND- if you have a power roof ventilator AND a ridge vent you aren't EFFIECENTLY ventilating your attic. Instead of air being pulled from the soffit vents, the power vent is just PULLING air from the ridge vent!
I wish roofers would stop being ventilation experts- because theyre NOT!
K'ledgeBldr - thanks for the info...
Hmmm... Maybe I should look more closely to see if I really have ridge vent. I know there are soffits along where the gutters are on the back side of the house, so I assumed we have the ridge vent at the top.... maybe I'm wrong.
So if I indeed have the ridge vent, sounds like it's useless to even turn on the Ventilator fan since that simply draws air from the top openings at the ridge vent which doesn't really do any good to vent out the air inside the attic.
More information here. We live in Southern California. Lots of heat, little rain, no snow. We have a set of gable vents on our home, but it isn't cooling off the attic very well due to the high temps around here. The main thing is to get as much heat as possible out of the attic.
I see several other homes in the area with both gable and turbine vents. The homes around here without gable vents usually only have dormers. I've read that turbines circulate more air than the passive dormers. Is this true?
Also, one last question. If we install turbines near the peak of the roof, will the slightly lower gable vents act like intake vents?
Thanks again for all the responses!
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