I have ranch house that has ridge vent soffit vents and two gables.
Roof ridge vents and gable vents.
The problem of using more energy to cool down your roof that should in theory be saving you money on energy costs can be reduced by installing solar panels that would power fans in your roof.
What are ridge vents.
Now your question is.
They allow airflow while directing rain away from the attic space.
Combining soffit vents and your gable vents this should provide enough air circulation in your roof to keep the temperature and humidity down.
Installing the vents can become a major production.
When the wind is perpendicular to the gable the cooler outside air enters the gable vent and drops to the floor of the attic before rising to exit at the other end again leaving zones of dead air right.
I added a attic fan 1500cfm onto the gable but i have the airflow coming in from the outside instead of pushing air out.
The best system is a combination of ridge and soffit units.
Ridge vents are installed on the peak of the gable roof.
On a house with eaves and gable vents but no ridge vents wind perpendicular to the ridge tends to create air flow along the floor of the attic but leave hot dead air in the roof peak left.
I ve read that adding a vent fan to the gable with ridge vent is bad b c it may reverse the natural flow of hot air plus draw in rain.
And then so the positive pressure at the soffit goes under the sheathing goes out at the ridge.
The ridge is always in a depressurized area of the house because the wind hits that and sort of bounces off the roof and goes in a circular motion which causes a draw at the ridge.
Ridge models run the length of a roof s peak and allow warm moist air to escape soffit vents run along the underside of eaves and enhance airflow by allowing it to enter from outside roof and gable versions provide a single point of exit and entry for air.
Gable vents are usually chosen for their visual appeal but can also serve as an exhaust vent.