Re: HVAC Question...
Anytime you build in the attic area your asking for alot of heat build up in the summer.
What kind of insulation do you have would be the first question I would ask, but I am thinking that the issue may be that when you built this area you did not leave a big enough air gap between the inside and outside walls and ceiling to roof, and as incoop mentioned what do you have for ventalation??
You may want to check your roof end vents to see if they are big enough and that the air holes in the sofiting are moving air.
"BUT" the big one is how many of those wirly gigs do you have on the roof to pull out the heat build up???
Ventilation devices can be active or passive. Turbine vents are passive ventilation devices. Other examples of passive ventilation devices are the traditional metal pot vents and the popular ridge and soffit ventilation systems. Passive ventilation devices do not need electricity to work. Whereas, an active ventilation device could be an electric powered whole house fan or a powered roof ventilator.
Turbine vents consists of a turbine mounted on a sheet metal cylinder. They are normally installed like roof line vents along the face of the roof. When the wind blows, the turbine spins which draws air up out of the attic. Passive turbine vents need wind to be effective, but active turbine vents are not dependent on wind. Turbine vents are round metal vents with fins in them. They normally stick up from the roof surface to about 18 to 20 inches. The fins are actually located in a dome shaped structure that spins when the wind blows across it. The faster the wind, the faster the turbine will rotate. Turbine vents are effective in replacing the hot air in your attic within minutes. Wind blows across the fins in the roof turbine and it exhausts the heat build up.
The mechanics involved in the air movement is very simple. During warm weather, the air present inside the attic heats up and since warm air rises, it tends to rise up. When the turbines rotate, they suck the warm air out through the vent thereby bringing out a drop in temperature in the attic. Turbine vents have been vastly used for many years in residential, agricultural, commercial and industrial buildings. They are cheap and easy to install and can pump out vast amounts of air from the attic.
Let us consider a small 12 inch diameter turbine vent. When a constant wind speed of 5 miles per hour is blowing across its face, it can remove almost 350 cubic fee of air per minute. Even with the lack of any wind, the vents would still allow warm air to drift up and out of the attic. But the volume of air removed would be considerably lower. Though the statistics might not impress you much, it is proved that for a moderately sized home it will do just fine.
It is quite natural for people to think that the vents would leak during a rainstorm. Every rainstorm or even a rain shower is accompanied with wind, which will make the turbines spin, so that should blow off the raindrops off the vent. The same applies for snow too.
Roof turbine vents are cheap. The average cost of a high quality roof turbine would be about $50. Also the time taken to install one is just about 15 minutes. Good quality roof turbines will be hassle free for years as they will have permanently sealed ball bearings. If you want the turbine vent to be secured better to your roof, you can always opt for the one with metal braces. The metal braces extend out beyond the turbine and do a good job of stabilizing the turbine even at high wind speeds.
Learn more about Vent and Roof Turbine Vents at the Vents site
http://vents.advice
