Adequate ventilation is a critical, yet frequently overlooked part of roofing.
Without it, any roof can suffer damage due to high heat and humidity in the attic, and utility bills can elevate much higher than they should be.
Although most roofs are designed to have more than enough ventilation to keep things cool and dry, roofers will sometimes install a turbine when the natural ventilation is not adequate.
What Is A Roof Turbine?
A turbine is a spinning mechanism built to create some sort of energy with its spinning vanes.
When applied to roofing, turbines added onto the tops of a roof installation are an effective solution when natural ventilation is not enough, or the design of the structure does not allow for proper ventilation.
These electric devices provide the extra ventilation necessary to reduce the humidity and temperature in the attic when the other ventilation systems already built into the roof (ridge, gable, and soffit vents) don’t do enough.
How Do Roof Turbines Work?
Roof turbines are run by electricity, usually on an automatic sensor that detects when conditions in the attic space beneath a roof become too hot and too humid.
Easily installed by professional roofers for as little as $100 per turbine, a few of these in strategic places can significantly improve attic ventilation and reduce the chance of the problems poor ventilation causes.
When switched on, the turbine vines spin quickly inside the housing, sucking hot and moist air in the attic up through the turbine to be released on the outside.
As the air under the roofing moves upward and into the turbine, cooler air from the outside is drawn in through the soffit vents.
This forced air movement creates a flow that also increases the amount of warm air that escapes from under the roof through ridge and gable vents.
Collectively, the increased airflow and removal of excess hot and humid air from the attic reduces the interior temperature and humidity level.
Why Install Roof Turbines?
The issue with poor ventilation for any roofing is the degree of damage that hot, moist air stagnating in an attic can cause.
Hot air under the decking can cause shingles to blister, or to lose their adhesion and lift up.
In climates where there is a possibility of snow or ice on the roof, hot attics cause ice damming.
All of these problems cause slow leaking that could, after some time, destroy the shingles, the decking, and even the structural framework of the roof.
Additionally, roofers find that moisture in the attic frequently permits mold growth, which ruins stored contents, pollutes the indoor air quality, and can even progress to the point of wood rot on the decking and structural system.
Hot attics also prevent rising hot air from leaving the home or building, making it harder to cool, increasing utility costs as a result.
All of these problems can be easily eliminated with a few turbine vents to control the temperature and moisture level in a hot, damp attic.
Avoid Ventilation Roofing Damage With A Roof Turbine
Roof turbines are an easy and inexpensive solution for preventing costly roofing damage and excessive utility bills.
If you are wondering whether your roof could use a few turbines, hire a roofer to do an inspection and test to determine if there is adequate ventilation.
Adding critical ventilation by installing turbines could save your entire roofing.