What are box vents?

Box vents — sometimes called low profile vents or flat vents — are individual exhaust vents installed near the ridge of the roof. They’re passive vents, meaning they have no moving parts and rely on natural convection and wind to exhaust air from the attic.

Box vents are a good solution on roofs where a continuous ridge vent isn’t practical — hip roofs, complex rooflines, or roofs without a long uninterrupted ridge. They’re installed in a pattern calculated to provide sufficient exhaust area for the attic square footage, and they need to be paired with adequate intake ventilation at the eaves to work correctly.

One thing worth understanding — more vents don’t automatically mean better ventilation. What matters is the balance between intake and exhaust, and having the right type of vent for the roof configuration. That calculation is part of every ventilation plan we put together.