Pros and cons of garage vents
 

Recommendations requested on garage vents. Good idea or not.

Thanks in advance.

Not necessary, but as far as an idea goes....maybe!!..:shrug:

they are the best option in a fire your home will burn much faster:0000000000luvmyhors

If you want to be cool get a mini split ac unit

A few vents in the garage would be almost worthless. Even if you left your garage door completely open it still wouldn't be cooler than ambient outside temps which will be in the 90's during the summer.

We installed a barrier and additional insulation in the entire attic of the house and insulated the garage doors. It has helped with the heating and AC in the house and has lowered the temperature in the garage. It's all relative though, if you have a garage at 110 degrees and it lowers it 20 degrees, how big a deal is that.....it's still hot.

I thought garage vents were there to vent the heat when charging an electric cart. Is that another old wives tale?

We added windows to the top of our garage door and decided to add some vents at the same time. RoMac did the work and we added small (like 3 - 4" high) vents along the bottom of the door. We were told by the installer that the larger vents that were the height of the bottom panel were not recommended because they adversely affected the hurricane resistance of the door. The vents didn't seem to help at all. If I were to do it again I would insulate the door and the ceiling of the garage like a previous poster did. As far as the cart charger, I think that is a wives tale.

GF-14 Garage Fan
 

Anyone have experience with the GF-14 Garage Fan?

The GF-14 Garage Ventilation Fan and Attic Cooler - Buy Direct


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This is exactly what I did, vents in both the main and golf cart garage doors, and a 1100 cfm exhaust fan to the attic. Seems to keep all of the temperatures lower. I have indoor/outdoor thermometer and the attic temperature typically drops 25+ degrees when the fan kicks on. Typically runs 1-2 hours after sunset, cooling the attic.

I suggest you do a google search on the instillation of vents or fans in homes in central Florida. There are university's that have done studies on this subject.

We had Romac insulate the garage door and had an
attic fan (not solar) installed and both have really helped.

The Solar Guys
 

We offer most of the solutions mention in this thread. GF-14, Solar Attic Fan, and Garage Door Insulation. You are welcome to stop by our local showroom to see a demo of these and get a quote.

Thanks,
The Solar Guys
866-669-5259
13624 S. US Hwy. 441
Summerfield, FL 34491
(1 Mile South of Market of Marion)

Solar Guys, Will you confirm please if you need to vent your garage when you are charging an electric cart. Thanks.

I am not sure what code/good practice is on this issue. I would contact the cart manufacturer and see their recommendation. We do install vents on the garage door but that is for air intake on our GF-14 garage fan.

Did you put the indoor/outdoor thermometer sensor in the attic?

Does the fan run most of the daytime starting as soon as it gets hot?

Do you notice a decrease in your indoor AC usage and drop in monthly electric bill?

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A garage fan wil & I mean will help a fire spread in your house, you now have an open path for fire to spread from your garage to your attic. How many who have installed attic stairs had fire-proofing installed on the attic stair surface?

Easy to solve using a relay wired in parallel with the hard wired smoke detectors. Detectors go off, exhaust fan shuts down. Easy to wire and foolproof. Using red sheathed cable will alert others so it won't be bypassed. [emoji106]🏻

These dampers close when excessive heat is detected, smoke is a better precursor to shut down the fan.

The sheetrock that was removed to install an attic stair has a fire rating, by removing that rock the fire rating of the attic ceiling is compromised--there are fire rated attic staire,look them up

I would like to see this fan in the garage myself would appreciate if someone could send me address please

The pennies saved in a/c cost are not worth the risk to life & property

I have two electric carts, the par car requires one seat be raised when charging because the charger is on board and needs circulation. The other cart has an external charger and therefore doesn't require the seats to be raised. Neither manufacturer has recommended anything close to venting a garage for charging. One cart is a 2014 and the other a 2015 and can't comment on older carts.

Yes, I have a wired indoor/outdoor thermometer, and that is what I see the 20 plus degree drop when the fan kicks on.

The fan will typically start in later morning/early afternoon depending on sunlight, and will run 1-2 hours after sunset.

I have not tracked the AC use, sorry, but I think it is less.

VT

I could send you a PM to stop by and see my installation....This was blocked.

Check temp in garage with door closed. Next day recheck with door open an inch or two. Compare to what the outside temp was. Probably be within 10 degrees.

We have a CYV with west facing garage doors. The sun was pounding heat into the garage in the afternoon and we wanted to do something to bring the temps down. Thought about a garage fan but didn't like the vents in the garage doors, looks wise and safety wise incase of fire.

What we did was to insulate the garage doors with Styrofoam panels. This is an easy DIY project. We bought 4x8 foot panels from Lowes 3/4" thick, a razor knife, straight edge and magic marker.

Take the reinforcement stripes off the doors, measure and cut the Styrofoam to fit and that is all you need to do. Take your time, measure twice, cut once, and you can finish the project in 3 hours. Fit the cut panels into the doors, reinstall the reinforcement stripes. Total cost was around $100.00.

The Styrofoam made a noticeable difference in the temps in the garage and in addition, quieted the opening/closing of the doors somewhat.

I know the original poster inquired about garage vents, but here is a different direction to consider to lessen the heat build up in the garage.