The Acrylife V2T™ uses the power of the wind to hold the roof securely in place. The technology behind the vent is based on a recognized physics principal to create a vacuum that becomes stronger as the speed of the wind increases. The vacuum pulls the air from under the membrane — drawing it down to the deck and holding the membrane firmly in place. The reality is, destructive uplift pressures are counteracted by a greater vacuum force created by the vent. The harder the wind blows the better the vent works!

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Membrane roof systems are subject to failure from the up lift that occurs during high wind events which pulls the membrane off the structure. We need only turn the calendar back a few years to be reminded of the devastating losses that occurred with Katrina and Rita in New Orleans and more recently Gustav and Ike along the Texas Gulf. Losses from these storms totaled in the billions. Conventional industry practice used to counteract this problem require roof designs that use multiple fastening patterns to hold the membrane in place adding significantly to the cost of the roof. The Acrylife V2T™ Vent solves this problem with a device design that captures the force of the wind and converts it into vacuum through geometry and a recognized aerodynamic principal to hold the membrane securely in place.

The V2T™ Roof Vent System was developed in collaboration with the Virginia Tech College of Engineering and the College of Architecture, in Blacksburg, Virginia. This revolutionary roof vent technology is ideal for low sloped roofs in environments with high winds, such as south Florida, and on buildings where fully adhering a membrane is not an option. The V2T™ Roof Vent System is different from existing roof vent devises because it uses the dynamic flow of air across the roof’s surface to create negative pressure. The vent works with the effects of the wind instead of against it.

The vent has gone through extensive testing in wind tunnels, and 22 field applications to substantiate performance and verify the effectiveness of the system. Third party testing by Underwriters Laboratory in their static chamber resulted in an approval rating of 195 pounds per square foot which can resist winds approaching 200 miles per hour when properly designed and implemented. Placement of these vents in the right location on the roof will maximizes vent performance and is a critical part of system design. Placing the vent in the active free stream which is the reconnection point for air flow across the roof allows the vent to convert wind speed into vacuum which pulls air out from under the membrane sucking it down to the substrate holding it in place. In order to take the guess work out of placement on the roof a design guide needs to be developed that will identify for the installer positioning on the roof. This guide will use input parameters like building size, height, square footage, and parapet wall height, to come up with a simple formula that can be used to locate an optimum position for the vent on various building configurations.  Another major area for adoption improvement is that of commercialization, the process of taking new products or concepts to market.Acrylife, Inc., together with researchers at Virginia Tech, is currently development V2T Vent's placement guide as well as identifying key areas for focusing on success in commercial development.