Can you keep wind turbines on the roof if you add a ridge vent?
What happens when they share an attic
A turbine creates suction near the top of the attic. The easiest air for it to pull is the closest: through the ridge vent a few feet away. Air flows in at the ridge and out the turbine, both near the peak, while the soffits and the lower deck see almost no flow. In windy rain, that reversed flow can even pull water in through the ridge vent.
Why people end up with both
- A ridge vent was added during a reroof and the turbines were left for extra exhaust.
- A turbine was added later to fix a hot attic that really needed intake.
Removing turbines properly
- Remove the turbine and its base flashing.
- Cut a piece of decking to fill the opening, supported on blocking if needed.
- Cover with underlayment and weave in shingles to match.
On an older roof, the patch shingles may not match perfectly; during a replacement, it disappears.
The exception
If a turbine vents an attic pocket that is sealed off from the main ridge, such as space over a garage behind a fire wall, it can stay as that pocket's exhaust, provided that pocket has its own intake.
A cheap interim fix
If removal must wait, a turbine can be capped with a cover made for that purpose, which stops it competing with the ridge.