What is this in the Attic?


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Old 04-01-18, 10:24 AM
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What is this in the Attic?

My house has 2 attics, larger one on the side of the house and a very tiny one towards the top center of the house. Actually, I never realized there was a second attic until now. It has a tiny cutout for access. My question what is this window in the center? The outside of this window is covered with dome shaped plastic with tiny holes (not visible in the pic due to daylight). Is this some kind of exhaust system. There is a string attached to it to close it. Am i supposed to close this window during winter months? The house is over a 100 yrs old, located in NY. Any assistance with identification will be appreciated.
 
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Old 04-01-18, 01:56 PM
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Vent look like this on the outside?
https://www.homedepot.com/b/Search/N...tialmax&NCNI-5
If so that's the first one I've seen with a damper to close it.
If this is an unfinished attic someone wasted time and money insulating those rafters.
The ceiling should have been airsealed then R-50 of insulation, nothing on the rafters.
That attic should be the same temp. as close as possible to the outside temp. to reduce the chance of ice dams.
https://energycode.pnl.gov/EnergyCod...ate=New%20York
 
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Old 04-01-18, 01:56 PM
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Looks like a roof turbine for venting hot air from the attic. Without a closer picture, hard to tell what you mean by holes. I would assume it is a bug screen of some sort. Can you take a picture of the outside of the unit if you can see it from the ground.
 
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Old 04-01-18, 06:37 PM
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You are both correct. Its wind turbine and this is how it looks from the outside. Am i supposed to shut the turbine in the winter months to prevent the hot air from escaping?

Also, the slots of the turbine are big enough that it would easily let wasps, termites and other bugs in. If you look at the original picture closely there is already a small nest (possibly a wasp nest) on one of the rafters. Is there anything i can do to prevent this?
 
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Old 04-01-18, 07:38 PM
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In the winter the objective is to exhaust the hot air out to prevent it from contacting a cooler surface and forming condensation.

You should review modern guidelines for attic ventilation and where best to install insulation and air seal.

Bud
 
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Old 04-03-18, 11:46 AM
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Thank you. Any suggestions on how to prevent insects from getting into the attic? I was thinking to put an insect screen (from the inside of the attic and not through the roof). Does anyone see any issue with that?
 
 

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