Foundation Vents - Air Vents for Crawlspaces and Basement Walls - Temp Vents
Manual and powered temp vent foundation vents, available to
the public,
including Radon Vents...
The foundation is critical to the integrity of
the home. That’s why foundation ventilation is critical.
Unventilated foundations are subject to built-up moisture that can
eventually lead to costly damage.
Temp Vent foundation vent systems help protect this critical area of
the home. What’s more, ventilation can help control conditions that lead
to mold, mildew, fungi, damp rot and unhealthy air.
But there’s more. If there’s
one thing termites are attracted to, it’s warm, moist, dead air
environments such as those found under houses in crawl spaces or
unfinished basements. Temp-Vent products have been especially designed for
the pest control industry.
Temp-Vent foundation vents help to provide ventilation that can reduce
moisture in these areas, which helps control termites.
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Specifying a Temp-Vent
System
When you recommend Temp-Vent foundation ventilation
products, you can install an automatic, non-powered
foundation vent system or electrical powered ventilators.
Specifying a Temp-Vent foundation vent system is simple.
All vents are sized to fit 8" x 16" openings with
1” outside frame on each of 4 sides. However, the design
of the system and the number of vents required are different
for powered and non-powered vents.
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Automatic Foundation Vents
The non-powered, Automatic Foundation Vent will open and
close automatically using a heat/cold sensitive coil. The louvers
open completely at approximately 72°F and completely close at
approximately 38°F. Unlike manual vents that can waste energy when
no one remembers to open or close them, these vents self-adjust all
year long.
To Specify:
Whenever possible, vents should be placed on all sides of the
foundation. This will create an intake/exhaust system that delivers
a steady flow of air. One vent should be installed for each 8 to 10
feet of foundation wall.
Most building codes require 1 square foot of open ventilation
area for every 150 square feet of crawl space. Temp Vent Automatic
Foundation Vents have 50 inches of net free area per vent.
Therefore, you should install one vent for every 50 square feet
of crawl space.
For crawl spaces with polyethylene installed, on 80-90% of the
floor, the ventilation requirement changes to 1 square foot of
ventilation for every 500 square feet of crawl space with a minimum
of 4 vents installed to provide cross ventilation. For crawl spaces
with polyethylene, install at least one vent for every 500 square
feet of crawl space.
Installation Tips for Automatic
Foundation Vents
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For proper ventilation, one vent should be
installed every 8-10 feet. |
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Avoid dead air spaced by placing vents within
3 feet of each corner. |
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A minimum of 4 vents are required to provide
cross-ventilation. |
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Dense shrubbery should be trimmed for the
vents to be effective. |
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Power Foundation Vents
Powered Temp-Vent systems are designed for foundations that
require a higher rate of airflow and for areas that are difficult to
vent. Depending on the model they can move large amounts of air per
hour. Designed to run continuously on a low speed, they draw minimal
electricity. However, Temp-Vent recommends power vents be fitted
with a thermostat and a humidistat to control the operation of the
vent.
To Specify:
To determine the correct number of Power Temp-Vents, use the
following formula:
1) Multiply the square feet of the crawl space by the height in
feet. This gives the number of cubic feet in the crawl space.
2) Multiply the cubic feet in the crawl space by the number of air
changes per hour desired (4-6 is the recommendation). This gives the
total number of cubic feet of air that has to be moved per hour to
produce the desired number of air changes.
3) Divide this number by either 7,200 or 11,160 — depending on
which model is being used — to obtain the number of power vents
needed.
4) Install vents to provide air intake on one side of the foundation
with the power vents on the other side to create a system of intake
and exhaust.
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Calculating how many
foundation vents are needed.
Example: 1500 square foot crawl space x 3 feet high =
4500
4500 cubic feet x 6 = 27,000 / 7,200 = 3.74
Install 4 power vents with intake vents on the opposite side
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