Trickle vent issue

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JamiePattison

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All the windows have a trickle vent and every year mainly during the winter we have the same issue where we can hear mild noise but more importantly the heat escaping even though the vent is closed.

I know the recommended advice is to leave them as is but I'm wondering if there is a better way to maintain them so when they're closed they aren't leaking heat?

Just looking for some ideas anyone may have.
 
Stupid question, but are they actually open?

Reason I say this. Moved into a new house that had only been refurbished a few years prior, so everything was new. Trickle vents though had been installed the "correct" way up. In other words the bit that opens (the ugly part) facing the ceiling. The problem was that half of our vents had been damaged (by fingers trying to find the latch I assume), so even though the latch was down, a good portion of the vent is open.

I hate trickle vents. I swear we've yogurt pots in the fridge that are made from more robust plastic. In the same year for the autumn/winter period I sealed up the bedroom ones too (blue and electric tape layered over the holes).

I replaced all ours (turns out several others were broken/half open too) and flipped them "upside down". You see the holes/grill but most of our windows have blinds so unless you go looking for these you never notice. The benefit is I can tell if they're open or not. This year I've not taped up the vents over winter and everything is fine. One thing to note when installing, the plastic is so cheap that if you tighten them up too much they won't close properly as they get caught on the window or a burr left by the screwhole, so again test/check this.

I did research better thermal/accustic vents but they seemed super expensive and not easy to purchase. I don't really get it.
 
I completely understand where you're coming from!

I can assure your they're closed. These ones move left to right (or opposite direction depending on how they've been fitted). So it's pretty easy to distinguish when they're closed or open.

What I noticed was they have a small gap at the bottom of the vent which I think is where the heat is escaping. I was thinking of siliconing them but this could mean they are stuck on and any future attempts to remove just the frame of the vent would probably break them as they don't seem very robust either.
 
I completely understand where you're coming from!

I can assure your they're closed. These ones move left to right (or opposite direction depending on how they've been fitted). So it's pretty easy to distinguish when they're closed or open.

What I noticed was they have a small gap at the bottom of the vent which I think is where the heat is escaping. I was thinking of siliconing them but this could mean they are stuck on and any future attempts to remove just the frame of the vent would probably break them as they don't seem very robust either.
Take them off - cling film down (making sure it's really flat) that's bigger than the vent's footprint, put the vents back on and then undo the screws say 1/4 to 1/2 turn to increase the gap. Then silicone, when dry, remove the vent with the cling film, trim\remove the cling film & refit the vents.
 
I agree that trickle vents are stupid. One minute they want you to have an airtight passivhaus and then they make you put in trickle vents, it's madness. All windows now have the vent position on the espagnolette anyway!

Rant finished. Perhaps you could replace the vents themselves with a higher quality model they do vary considerably in quality and how they operate as well.
Or just fill them with expanding foam!!!

Ollie
 
We (I) replaced all the trickle vents in our old house a few months back after getting a load of insulation put in. The vents that were fitted had rusted shut so may as well not have been there. We have humidity sensors and saw a good 5% drop and windows were noticeably clearer of condensation.

They still fog up at times, and that's when the, you guessed it, Karcher window vac comes out. It was a gift from the DIL which I originally scoffed at (I still wouldn't use one to clean the windows) but, for sucking up condensation, it's a brilliant bit of kit. You do have to keep the area clear or you're forever having to shift carp out of the way. If anyone would like to make this point to the Better Half, I'd much appreciate it 🙈
 
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