# Homebuilding: Why don't more homes have roof vents?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebuilding-why-dont-more-homes-have-roof-vents/189672>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 20, 2003, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebuilding-why-dont-more-homes-have-roof-vents/189672 "2003-07-20T01:19:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebuilding-why-dont-more-homes-have-roof-vents/189672/1 "2003-07-20T01:19:32Z")

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In my part of the North Carolina, roof vents–which help vent the hot air in a house’s attic–are almost universal. During a recent business trip to southern Kentucky and Tennessee, I noticed that very few homes (old or new) use roof vents. Instead, the builder opted for the turbine fans or some other type of ventilation.

Why the difference?

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**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebuilding-why-dont-more-homes-have-roof-vents/189672/2 "2003-07-20T01:37:30Z")

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Well turbine fans (wind powered) and forced ventelation via attic fans will move more air then natural convection vents (most of the time), so I would wag, that they have more direct sun on the roofs (less clouds), possibly hotter climate then NC.

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**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebuilding-why-dont-more-homes-have-roof-vents/189672/3 "2003-07-20T02:50:05Z")

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Usually, ventilation is an either-or situation. For instance, you normally would not see gable-end vents AND ridge vents. Passive turbines remove air well, and so do ridge vents, but I’m not sure you would want both.

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**Author:** ![nodope4us](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/278dde/32.png) [@nodope4us](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nodope4us)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebuilding-why-dont-more-homes-have-roof-vents/189672/4 "2003-07-20T03:05:33Z")

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Also dont forget the people designing the housing project or just one house have a certain idea and budget in mind for everything. Vents are less expensive than fans. Also custom build homes might have the option of adding a fan instead of a vent.