AUTOMATIC DAMPER for Turbine Vent By RITA COOK / Special Contributor to THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS # # # If you knew you could lower your heating bill this winter by keeping the heat inside your home instead of letting it seep out, what would you do? Tom Clark, president and owner of Lancer United Inc. in Dallas, says he saw warm air escaping from attic after attic as he worked in the attic-ventilation industry. Then one day he had an aha moment. "A few years back I [was] developing plastic products for companies in the attic-ventilation business, and, knowing that these turbine vents suck heat from a home in winter and waste energy, I decided to make this easy-to-install automatic damper retrofit that stops winter heat loss," Clark says. In July 2009, Clark's company began producing and selling the Turbine Boss, a patented energy-saving retrofit for turbine vents on the roof. Clark says it's already in many area homes and has a high rating. To see how Turbine Boss works, Clark urges customers to test it in the refrigerator. Wait 30 minutes, and watch the louvers close. Driven by temperature, the louvers open at 80 degrees and close at 40. Customer Don Broome of Dallas says, "I pretested it in my refrigerator, and the louvers closed. For years I put a plastic bag over my turbine vents during winter because it lowered my heating costs. Now the Turbine Boss does the work." For Turbine Boss, call Lancer United Inc. at 972-243-6839 or visit the website