What Are The Different Types Of Roof Vents?
What Are The Different Types Of Roof Vents?
There are many different styles of roof vents. These include Ridge Vents (Most Common Exhaust), Off Ridge Vents, Box Vents (aka Louver Vents), Hard-Wired Powered Attic Vents.
Also Solar Powered Attic Vents, Roof Turbines (aka Whirlybird Ventilation), Cupola Vents, Soffit Vents (Most Popular Intake Vent), Soffit Vents (Most Popular Intake Vent), Gable Vents, and Drip Edge Vents.
1. Ridge Vents (Most Common.
Ridge vents are the most prevalent type of exhaust vent. If you need a new roof in Massachusetts and are searching for a quotation from a roofing contractor in Boston, Massachusetts, this sort of vent is almost always included in your estimate.
Because of the year-round temperature changes in Greater Boston, ridge vents are essential for every new roof installation.
If a ridge vent is not specified on your estimate document, inquire about the exhaust vent the contractor intends to install and why it is the best fit for your specific roofing job.
A ridge vent is located at the apex of your roof and runs the length of it. Ridge vents are ideal for allowing hot air to exit the attic area since they are placed at the roof’s highest point.
And, since they span the length of the roof, they have the surface area required to discharge enormous volumes of hot air.
Vertical ventilation utilizes gravity as well as the natural movement of cold and hot air. Cold air enters from the bottom and escapes from the top. This strategy outperforms horizontal or cross-venting, which will be discussed later.
2. off Ridge Vents.
On a three-tab asphalt shingle roof, a metal off-ridge vent was placed. The UV-45 Universal Vent is offered by Active Ventilation Products, Inc. (discussed at the bottom of this section).
Though the names are similar, an off-ridge vent is only identical to a ridge vent in that they both lie near the crest of your roof. In reality, “off-ridge vents” resemble box vents far more than ridge vents.
Off-ridge vents are not common and are not recommended compared to other, more effective exhaust roofing vents. Because they are significantly smaller and do not perch as high on the roof, off-ridge vents are not as efficient as full ridge vents.
Their size prevents them from discharging a considerable volume of hot air, and their placement prevents them from venting the ultimate hottest air, like ridge vents.
3. Box vents (aka Louver Vents)
The initial stage in installation is identical to that of an off-ridge vent in that a hole in the roof is made for the vent to sit above.
Another similarity is that box vents are typically positioned in clusters throughout the roof to provide additional ventilation. One or two box vents are insufficient to ventilate your whole roof.
A box vent is squarer in shape than its off-ridge equivalent, thus the name. There are a variety of sizes available to accommodate what is required for your location. The most common box vent size available today is 18 inches by 18 inches.
4. Hard-Wired Powered Attic Vents.
Powered attic vents, also known as driven attic ventilators or attic power vents, are electric-powered fans that aid in the removal of stale air from attics.
They function similarly to a box fan put in a window on a hot summer day. They can effectively pull hot air out at a higher cost in terms of electricity.
Overall, one of the primary objectives for attic ventilation is to maintain your attic temperature consistent with the rest of your home.
The room may be somewhat warmer in the summer and slightly colder in the winter, but we want to minimize excessive temperature variations from season to season.
This is vital to remember when considering powered attic vents since their power may frequently be either damaging to a ventilation plan or ineffective.
5. Solar Powered Attic Vents.
Solar-powered attic ventilation eliminates nearly all the electricity expenditures associated with traditional hard-wired vents. Still, it does not eliminate the drawbacks of powered attic vents.
Simply reducing the electricity expenses has no effect on how the machine performs. Fans are frequently either too powerful or not powerful enough. Unfortunately, there is no way to ensure that you get it exactly right.
When used in conjunction with a good vertical ventilation system (such as a ridge vent exhaust and soffit vent intake), powered vents can have negative impacts that would not have occurred otherwise. More is not always preferable.
6. Roof Turbines (aka Whirlybird Ventilation)
Whirlybird is a fun term, which we believe is a huge advantage of owning a roof turbine. You get to stand in your driveway, point to your house, and tell your neighbors.
Wind turbines aren’t all fun and games; some real benefits and drawbacks might affect the health of your roof and attic ventilation.
British inventor Samuel Ewart created whirlybird vents in the early 1900s. The system was made up of aluminum blades inside an aluminum “cowl,” or covering, that rotated utilizing wind from outside the home to suck air up from the attic and out. Ewart’s original design is still used in newer whirlybird replicas.
Roof turbines require winds of at least 5 to 6 miles per hour to activate and spin the inner blades, hence they are ineffective on days with little or no breeze. If this is the sole exhaust on your roof, you’ll have problems on hot summer days when there’s no breeze.
7. Cupola Vents
On a red metal roof, a lovely cupola vent with louvers and its own metal roof. If you’ve ever wondered what that tower-like structure on your roof is, you may be the fortunate owner of a cupola vent.
Cupola vents are among the least frequent types of roof vents due to their high cost, complexity, and the fact that not everyone has the primary problem they were created to remedy.
The origins of cupola vents may be traced back to their use in barns. Originally, they were designed to let a lot of air into a barn’s loft in order to assist dry hay and other crops kept in the structure.
Cupola vents come in a variety of forms and designs. Some have wooden louvers around the openings to keep the weather out, while others are completely open to maximize the light and air that reaches the chamber below.
8. Soffit Vents (Most Popular Intake Vent)
The most common kind of roof intake venting is soffit ventilation. It is one part of the most common intake and exhaust configuration; soffit vents (for intake) with a ridge vent (for exhaust).
Soffit vents are popular among house builders and roofers because they are the most cost-effective intake vent. If the form of the building allows for it, most new home builders incorporate soffit vents in the layout.
9. Gable Vents.
Gable vents are an earlier, rather outmoded kind of intake that also serves as a partial exhaust system.
Unlike the vertical ventilation covered throughout this article, Gable vents use horizontal or cross-ventilation to keep air circulating through the attic space. The basic idea is that air enters from one side of the attic and exits through the other.
A gable vent is commonly used with a gable-type roof because it allows for ventilation on all sides of the house. These vents are less effective on more complicated roof types because rafter beams, peaks, valleys, dormers, and other roof components can obstruct the crosswind.
10. over Fascia Vents.
Fascia vents, also known as over-fascia vents, are a newer type of roofing intake that is intended particularly for roofs with insufficient eaves to accommodate soffit vents. A fascia vent is installed at the top of the fascia board and gutter, right behind the first row of shingles.
In contrast to a soffit vent, which relies on rising air, the main idea behind fascia vents is to enable air intake where the wind hits the roof.
11. Drip Edge Vents.
The drip edge vent is similar to a standard drip edge, except it includes ventilation. Because the design and performance of fascia vents and drip edge vents are so similar, the advantages and downsides of both apply.
The air intake is designed to strike the roof head-on with drip edge and fascia vents, then draw the cool air up the interior roof wall towards any exhaust vent at the roof’s peak.
Drip edge vents vary from fascia vents in that they are put in different locations. The drip edge is a roofing material installed right under the first row of shingles to help drain water into the gutters. It is often constructed of pliable metal.
A drip edge vent inserts intake into the traditional roofing material, with tiny holes drilled into or added to the drip edge as an add-on.
