Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Depends on your roof structure. If you have gable vents at both ends of a peak then you draw in hot air from the other side. If you have one gable vent and pull from soffit vents then it may help. My gable vents are closed and we rely in he ridge vents and soffit vents for cooling the attic.
Are you referring to an attic ventilation fan, that goes in the roof or gable end, or an old-fashioned one that goes in the ceiling? I had one of the latter ones growing up and it was very useful on days when it was cooler outside than in. For the former, I think a university in Florida did a study and found that soffit and roof vents worked better.
You will probably get more/better responses by posting on the House forum.
Attic fans are prohibited by fire code in other areas. Not here.
Reason being, they can help create additional draft in a fire, particularly when on a thermostat that turns them on automatically.
That said, I would consider one, if it ran at night only on hot days, and pulled the coolest air available through the attic.
Two blowing out the gables and pulling air in through the soffits.
Or, in the steep hip roof designs, where there is only a few feet of ridge for ridge vent. There is no way 4-6 feet of ridge vent is adequate to ventilate those attics. A fan or two, or a gable off the back of the peak with a fan might be the ticket.
Attic fans are prohibited by fire code in other areas. Not here.
Reason being, they can help create additional draft in a fire, particularly when on a thermostat that turns them on automatically.
That said, I would consider one, if it ran at night only on hot days, and pulled the coolest air available through the attic.
Two blowing out the gables and pulling air in through the soffits.
Or, in the steep hip roof designs, where there is only a few feet of ridge for ridge vent. There is no way 4-6 feet of ridge vent is adequate to ventilate those attics. A fan or two, or a gable off the back of the peak with a fan might be the ticket.
With all due respect Mike, attic fans are the most ignored devices in a house. At anytime during it's long life the bearings fail. A loud screeching noise can be heard and that is a sure sign to turn them off and replace it. If the failed bearings go unresolved the fan will over heat and catch fire. Thus a roof/attic fire.
I replaced my entire roof about three years ago on a 25 year old home. They put ridge vents all the way down the roof line. He asked me if I wanted to keep the attic fan. Rather than being a roof professional for a day I asked him what would he do? He yanked it and put a full sheet of plywood in the space.
Don't get me wrong as I agree that the roof fan serves it's purpose on the old design. I changed mine out regularly during the first 25 years of my house. The DIY- procedure for replacing the fan is a whole nother' story/topic left for another day.
Nope. Common source of house fire and they actually use more energy than they save in many cases as the draw tends to pull conditioned air from the house.
Nope. Common source of house fire and they actually use more energy than they save in many cases as the draw tends to pull conditioned air from the house.
How would you propose to ventilate a 16/12 hip roof with a 6 foot ridge?
As Sacredgooves said, unless you are super careful you’ll have too much air pulling out. It will pull from the home. So, you’ll pay money to pull air you paid to condition, out of your home. Your attic will be cooler, but it will be because your air conditioner is cooling it. And of course the air to replace what was in your house comes from outside and your crawlspace.
How would you propose to ventilate a 16/12 hip roof with a 6 foot ridge?
Cupola maybe. My dad's childhood home had a big steep hip roof with short ridge...with a cupola.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
