Venting Your Attic

These vents allow outside air to enter the attic at the lowest point of the roof along the underside of the eave.

Venting your attic.

Ensuring your home has the proper attic ventilation according to these guidelines however can save yourself the stress and hassle of an emergency roof repair. That cuts cooling costs and prolongs shingle life. To determine the area multiply the length times the width in feet. Cool air in hot air out.

If your home is fitted solely with small gable end vents or a ventilator high in the roof you might want to consider adding soffit vents to increase airflow. Static roof line vents are effective for ventilation but generally aren t recommended due to issues with leaks. Fans and vents may be installed on the roof system that will draw the air out of the attic space and exhaust it to the exterior. Gable vents may circulate air through only a small percentage of your attic.

Soffit vents may leave air trapped at the top of your attic. If your attic covers the entire house a measurement of its outside dimensions will give you the area of the attic space. Effective attic ventilation systems reduce damaging heat and moisture in your attic promote energy efficiency by helping to reduce the load on your air conditioner in the summer and also reduce the risk of ice dam formation on your roof. An attic fan works by exchanging the hot air in your attic space for fresh air pulled through the vents.

Most effective ventilation uses a ridge and soffit continuous ventilation system but even. Good ventilation allows the heat and moisture to escape. This will help to avoid premature damage to the shingles or mold building up in moist hot. These fans may be controlled by a switch or a thermostat which detects heat build up in the attic space and automatically exhausts the attic space.

That keeps your attic dry and reduces ice dams. In the summer good attic ventilation reduces heat buildup. To choose the proper ventilation system for your attic you ll first need to know the total area of your attic. In the winter warm moist air seeps into the attic from the living space below.

If those steps don t solve the problem add more soffit vents following the techniques we show in photos 4 17. So if your attic is 25 by 15 you ll need 2 5 feet of vent space. Begin by making sure your existing system works photos 1 and 3 plugging major air leaks into the attic photo 2 and correcting any other of the common causes of poor attic venting. Whole house fans powered attic fans.