Attic Venting Benefits
Is Insufficient Attic Venting Destroying Your Home?
Attic venting is an important aspect of maintaining a healthy, energy efficient home. Adding a solar attic fan is a simple and affordable home improvement product that overtime will pay for itself. They work with your existing passive vents to improve air circulation. In the summer, cooling your attic space can reduce your AC costs and extend the life of your roof shingles. In cooler months, attic venting prevents moisture build-up preventing rot, mildew and ice damming.
Attic Venting Benefits
Prevents overheated roof deck
ATTIC VENTING
Extends the life of your roof
Though asphalt shingles are designed to take the abuse of the sun for many years, they are subjected to greater temperatures when the roof decking is allowed to overheat, which is just what happens in an under ventilated attic. In fact, asphalt shingle manufacturers warranties require proper attic ventilation. During the colder months, attic ventilation removes the warm, moist air that heat sources produce. Hot moist air lingering in the attic spaces can condense on the underside of the roof sheathing and rot it out. Moisture in the attic also causes mold to develop on the interior walls. Cold air in the attic space will not affect the temperature in the adjacent living spaces if properly insulated.
Reduces attic temps 40°
ATTIC VENTING
Reduces load on HVAC
The most obvious reason for attic ventilation is to lower the attic temperature during the warmer months. Attic temperatures can exceed 160°F during hot summer days. Proper attic ventilation can reduce those temperatures by up to 40°F. No matter how much insulation is in the attic, heat can still transfer into adjacent living spaces. In fact, extra insulation can actually add to temperature increases because heat is trapped in the insulation. Proper ventilation removes this excess heat build-up. As the heat is exhausted, the workload of your air conditioning system is reduced, thereby saving energy costs and even extending the life of your air conditioning system.
Prevents mold and mildew
ATTIC VENTING
Reduces moisture build-up
In the cooler months, moisture is the most serious concern. Even with the use of vapor barriers to keep moisture from entering the attic, there are air leaks around ceiling light fixtures, bathroom exhaust fans that allow unwanted moisture into the attic. Moisture condensing on the framing members and the inside of the roof deck can lead to the growth of mold, mildew and rot in the roof deck and framing. A good indicator of a moisture problem is rusty roof nails sticking through the roof deck.
Helps
stop ice damming
ATTIC VENTING
Prevents ice damming
Ice dams form in homes with warm attics during the winter months. A warm attic melts snow close to the roof shingles causing it flow down to the eaves where it refreezes because roof overhangs tend to be much colder. The ice starts building up a rim which further traps new snow melt creating what is called an ice dam. The ice dam prevents water from running off the roof and causes puddles. Eventually, the water in these puddles can work their way backwards and under the shingles to cause leaking. The main way to prevent this ice damming (without shoveling off the snow manually) is attic venting. Maintaining a cooler attic will minimize hot spots in your attic that cause damaging ice damming.
Summer Benefits
Lowers attic temperature during the warmer months. Attic temperatures can exceed 160°F during hot summer days. Proper attic ventilation can reduce those temperatures by up to 40°F.
No matter how much insulation is in the attic, heat can still transfer into adjacent living spaces. In fact, extra insulation can actually add to temperature increases because heat is trapped in the insulation. Proper ventilation removes excess heat build-up.
Also, as the heat is exhausted, the workload of your air conditioning system is reduced, thereby saving energy costs and even extending the life of your air conditioning system.
A properly ventilated attic minimizes heat build up on roof decking resulting in a longer lasting roof. In fact, asphalt shingle manufacturers warranties require proper attic ventilation.
Winter Benefits
Hot moist air lingering in the attic spaces can condense on the underside of the roof sheathing and cause rot. Moisture in the attic also causes mold to develop on the interior walls. Attic ventilation removes the warm, moist air that heat sources produce during colder months.
Cold air in the attic space will not affect the temperature in the adjacent living spaces if properly insulated.
Even with the use of vapor barriers to keep moisture from entering the attic, there are air leaks around ceiling light fixtures and bathroom exhaust fans that allow unwanted moisture into the attic. Moisture condensing on the framing members and the inside of the roof deck can lead to the growth of mold, mildew and rot in the roof deck and framing.
A good indicator of a moisture problem is rusty roof nails sticking through the roof deck. Installing a solar attic fan on your home is a simple, cost effective way to reduce moisture buildup in your attic.