Garage door vents?

[Yoda]

Since we have been here, we have seen many garage doors with 2 plus vents installed in the door. Why did you do it and how does it work? It looks like a good idea.

Yoda

[under55]

They install the vents when they put in the Garage Exhaust Fan. The GF fan pulls outside air thru the vents and then the warmer garage air is transferred to the attic. Then the solar attic fans exhaust the hot attic air out the roof.
Cost of the garage fan and vents installed is $495.00 Cost of 2 solar attic fans installed $950.00 by The Solar Guys. And you get a %30 tax credit on the solar attic fans.

[Yoda]

They install the vents when they put in the Garage Exhaust Fan. The GF fan pulls outside air thru the vents and then the warmer garage air is transferred to the attic. Then the solar attic fans exhaust the hot attic air out the roof.
Cost of the garage fan and vents installed is $495.00 Cost of 2 solar attic fans installed $950.00 by The Solar Guys. And you get a %30 tax credit on the solar attic fans.

Thanks for the info

Yoda

[coffeebean]

We bought our pre-owned villa with two garage vents but we don't have any fan to the attic or from the attic to the outside. We do have a vent in the attic access door which allows air flow from the attic to the garage. I guess having the vents in the garage door allows air to circulate in the garage to the outside which I would imagine helps to vent out the hot air from the attic. This is our second season as snowbirds so I can't say how all this really works in the heat of the summer.

[golf2140]

Just a question. Wouldn't garage door vents compromise the integrity of the garage door during a hurricane?

[Number 6]

Just a question. Wouldn't garage door vents compromise the integrity of the garage door during a hurricane?

That is what we were told, so I rigged up some covers for that event.

[golfnut]

I had 2 installed to keep the garage cooler and yes it works, never heard it compromises the integrity of the door during a hurricane (assuming a hurricane ever makes it this far inland) would be interested in some factual info on this though....gn

[Advogado]

I had 2 installed to keep the garage cooler and yes it works, never heard it compromises the integrity of the door during a hurricane (assuming a hurricane ever makes it this far inland) would be interested in some factual info on this though....gn

I suspect that the vents may actually improve the chances of the garage door's surviving a storm, by relieving the pressure, but I really don't know. In any event, we had a couple installed, with no fan. They make a significant difference in the garage temperature in the summer. I would recommend buying the optional baffles for winter usage.

Remember in most houses your water line runs up and along an uninsulated garage wall, so on a really really cold day, it could freeze and burst if your garage gets too cold. Our cost, including the baffles, was $90 in 2008 (it may be more now). The work was done by Larry's Garage Door Inserts, who did very nice work. I have seen some really lousy do-it-yourself jobs.

[Bonanza]

That is what we were told, so I rigged up some covers for that event.

If we were to get a severe hurricane with high winds in this area,
our garage doors aren't worth anything.

Unless you have a Miami-Dade approved door, what the builders install aren't worth a damn, vent or no vent.[

[TNLAKEPANDA]

I would think it would be better to insulated th doors with foam panels. Also insulate the attic area above the garage. This will keep your garage at a reasonable temp.

[drdodge]

there is am ad in todays Daily sun for vents installed it is in the first section of the paper

drd

[graciegirl]

A neighbor had something like vents added( I don't recall if it was vents, so I could be starting a rumor, and found they weren't to the new code that protects against hurricanes.

Sumter County, FL - Official Website - Protect Your Garage (http://sumtercountyfl.gov/index.aspx?NID=755)

You might check first with warranty. It could void your warranty.

[Bobcuse]

I do not have the garage door vents but I do have the sliding screens for my garage with the solar mesh screening which definitely helps reduce the garage temperatures, but I do not have an powerful attic exhaust fan to suck the hot air out through the roof. I do have a solar fan in my roof to cool the attic and when I open the attic entry panel you can feel the air being sucked up into the attic area. When I started inquiring about getting a powerful attic exhaust fan to cool my garage even more, the contractor I was talking to said "an attic exhaust fan will simply suck warmer outside air into your garage and up and out through the attic but will not cool your garage". He convinced me that unless your garage is significantly hotter than the outside air (mine isn't because of my screening), you are merely replacing the garage air with outside warm air...what's the point? Maybe garage screening with the white solar mesh is a better solution.

[LI SNOWBIRD]

They install the vents when they put in the Garage Exhaust Fan. The GF fan pulls outside air thru the vents and then the warmer garage air is transferred to the attic. Then the solar attic fans exhaust the hot attic air out the roof.
Cost of the garage fan and vents installed is $495.00 Cost of 2 solar attic fans installed $950.00 by The Solar Guys. And you get a %30 tax credit on the solar attic fans.

We have the vents in the garage door. We have a solar attic fan and keep the opening in the garage ceiling for a folding ladder open a little for the air to rise thru and get sucked out by the fan--works for us

[UpNorth]

I've often wondered what the real purpose of these vents were. Some of the above posts seem to make sense. My initial guess was that they were needed to supply combustion air for homes with gas furnaces and gas water heaters. I also thought they were a good idea for venting out annoying gas golf cart fumes. In any event, they are probably worthwhile to get if you don't have them.

[andercat]

I was discussing this thread with my husband. Since our garage faces South, I thought the vents might help keep the garage cooler. My husband wondered about fire safety. If you get a garage fire, the vents going up to the attic would pull the fire into the attic and help spread the fire. Just a thought that you might want to consider before installing vents that go into the attic.