[red-beard]

I went through this about 10 years back. We had ridge vents and plenty of soffit. The problem was we have a HUGE southern exposure. I wanted turbines to replace the ridge vents. They arrived with powered vents.

1. Powered vents require power
2. Powered vents have motors with a limited life
3. They use thermostats that have a limited life
4. They require being properly hooked up to power!!!

At 60 Watts each, running about half the time, year round 4380 hours, using three powered vents, my estimated power bill was $75-80/year. They lasted about 3 years before failing.

About 7 years ago, I had them replaced with what I had originally wanted: Turbine vents. They do not require power. They work. I ended up with 4 turbine vents including one in an area above the bedroom.

I think at least one or two of the electric vents had failed a while before. The attic is much cooler now. And we went with commercial grade with proper ball bearings, not Home Depot level.

Oh, and I'm saving $75 per year from my electric bill. Not HUGE but still everything helps.

We will see how the new Air Conditioners perform this year. Last year, we saw a significant difference.

Now I need to attack my file servers. My estimate is they are about $25/mth of my electric bill.