Ventilation-------What really is the best system for the Metro DC area?

Everyone has hyped up ridge vents with the soffit vents for the past 10 - 15 years or so (at least in the Metro DC area they have); trying to sell the savings on electricity....the natural convection and so forth. I am more and more feeling that ridge vents are sort of useless. Sure there must be some air that gets out but how much? With no or little air movement outside....how much is the ridge vent with the soffits doing? The design of the vent also...the air has to travel up and back down and up again to go out the vent. Now they're selling solar fans. I've installed 3 for homeowners, and it seems like the blades hardly spin. I can't see how they are pulling much air.

I am down to thinking that the best way is the power attic fan. Now which one is the big question. I recently read about some German Attic Fan sold by a company Horizons Energy Systems. http://insulmation.stores.yahoo.net/index.html

Gable mounted verus roof mounted????

Any opinions would be appreciated. Thank you.

Why ask why?

What is the other one? Why. (period) the only answer is Why not. (period) Just eliminate the question marks!

I don't know why builders do that O/S.

Oh wait I know why: Because they don't know why. That is why

Just use a fully vented aluminum soffit. Aluminum has 9% net free area and vinyl has 5% Twice as much. Use all vented panels too. Why use half and half or 1/3-2/3 vewnted to solid?

natty Said: ..... In a properly vented attic, there will be so much air movement that you will have to clean out the soffit vent every year because it will plug up with debris.

Do you mean From a power vent?

The baffled ridge vents are the best as long as there is plenty of ridge and unobstructed soffit vents. I don't know why they even make non-baffled vents because they are worthless. However, many hip roofs don't have much ridge, so the power vent is the best. The solar powered fans are over priced toys. They only run with direct sunlight. Any shade or a cloud will slow them down or they will even stop. Of course, they won't run at night. In Texas, it's usually 95 degrees at midnight in the summer so the fan needs to run all night sometimes. Even at full strength, the solar fan will move less than half what a power vent will move.

In a properly vented attic, there will be so much air movement that you will have to clean out the soffit vent every year because it will plug up with debris.

The ventilation seminar I went to a few years ago said that they want 50 - 50 intake / exhaust to 60% intake - 40% exhaust.

I once had to crawl up in an attic to find a leak with soffit / ridge vent system. There was a pretty good breeze blowing; as I was making my way across the attic, a gust blew my hat off. I couldn't believe how much wind made its way into the attic area.

95% of the time when you have a good ridge vent with an external baffle that isn't working properly it is because you don't have any or very little soffit ventilation. I don't care how many vents you put in the bottom of the soffit, the question is is the air getting into the attic. I have seen too many fully vented soffits that vent right up to the plywood sofit that was originally on the house that was never removed when it it was resided and had new soffits installed. Most of these cases were the result of insulation being added to the attic which plugged up the soffits and stopped air flow. Pull back the insulation, rip out the old soffits all the way to the rafters, install proper vents into the attic and then install a fully vented soffit. THEN and only then will the ridge vents work. The power vents won't work without soffit vents either.

We are shooting ourselves in the foot all of the time. I sell the hell out of total venting systems and the ice build-up disappears when we do. it works!

What's the condition of the roof when you tear them off? Are you tracking energy savings? Is anyone tracking energy savings?

Around here they mostly just complain and build bigger houses with higher ceilings.