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I need help. I live in TEXAS, 76084. Straight winds and hail damaged my roof. I put up turbine vents to replace the turtle vents (I am told they are called dormer venting) and now have the issue of my hoa asking me to take them down because they are ugly, will be noisy, etc... I was told by my roofer that the turtles allowed little air flow, was allowing the birds in, (yes the mess in the attic from the birds was horrible) and costing me to run the air conditioner longer. He said the turbines allow for more air to be taken out of the attic and will be better for the house and help a little on the pocket book. He said gable venting with soffits would be best but cost more, so I put in the turbines. Where can I get info to support what my roofer has told me, and does anyone in Texas have an opinion on this?
If your HOA is causing issues with the spinning Turbine's you can replace them with powered vent turbine's they look like flat disks that sit on top of the hole where there Turbine would look just like a turtle vent. They can be powered either by solar or by running electricity to them.
This subject matter has been talked about many times previously on C-D. Here's my take- turbines are in essence a "mechanical" device. The definition of mechanical means it will break/fail at some point.
Having a passive ventilation system is more than vents here, and vents there. Having the correct numbers (sq/ins per sq/ft of vents versus total attic area are key) can and will directly effect the overall energy costs associated with your home.
The only problem I've every truly seen from "turtle backs" is the material from which they're made. Plastic ones are easily defeated by wild life- those that are made from metal are pretty much impenetrable.
As for power vents- good in the sense that they provide positive air flow- bad in the sense that they can create a low pressure condition in the attic which can draw "conditioned air" from the living space to the attic (energy waste), and of course they are mechanical- they will fail.
I'm in Texas about 300 miles south of you. In my opinion, turtle vents and turbines are total waste of time and money. All they do is provide a very small avenue for heat to rise out of the attic. Most often they create pockets of hot air by not venting the entire roof. You'll be much farther ahead if you go with ridge vents. Properly installed, they provide venting heat from all of the attic, they are not noticeable, and should be acceptable by your HOA.
I'm just a homeowner and so have no expertise but I agree totally with TrapperL. I had someone (an auditor, not a salesman) do an home energy checkup on my house and, as a result, I switched from turbines to ridge vents with great results.
I've seen power vents start fires. That makes them a non-starter for me.
Had such a fire at an office I used to own. A passerby called the fire department and fortunately the damage was minimal. Fire was after hours and no one was in the building.
Ridge vents are only as good as the installation.
I've seen plenty of ridge vents installed over nothing more than a "crack" at the ridge beam. So again, having the right amount (sq/ins) of venting is key- just because you have a "ridge vent" doesn't make it right.
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