The attic vent can be one of the often overlooked places in your home. After all, you can’t visit the attic that often, except perhaps when you’re storing boxes or unused appliances. People tend to take it for granted because they don’t visit that part of the house as much as the other rooms. But do you know how important it is to keep your attic well ventilated? Let’s take a look at the importance of having proper attic ventilation below.
For the warmer months of the year, it’s pretty obvious that the benefit of a well-ventilated attic is a cooler attic temperature. If you maintain a lower temperature in the attic of your home, then you will be lowering your cooling costs. The air conditioning unit in your home doesn’t have to work as hard to cool the attic. At the same time, having a well-ventilated attic will leave you with something of a cool protective blanket from the heat outside. No matter how much insulation you have up there, it won’t matter if your attic isn’t well ventilated. In fact, if you don’t have proper ventilation in your attic, that insulation will even cause the temperature to rise.
Insulation tends to retain solar heat even after the sun goes down. Other than that, another great benefit of a well-ventilated attic is that it helps extend the life of your asphalt shingles. The roof takes a beating during the summer heat. Although they are designed to withstand the blazing sun, they will be subject to increased exposure if the roof tiles overheat. This happens with a stuffy attic.
Now that we’ve discussed the benefits of having proper attic ventilation during the warmer months, let’s talk about the benefits during the cooler months of the year when solar winter begins to kick in. One of the obvious problems during the cold season is moisture buildup. You should prevent moisture from entering the attic.
Even if you have vapor barriers, there will still be moisture coming up through that attic. For example, you will go through the ceiling lamps and the exhaust fan in your bathroom, among others. It is a big concern if moisture condenses on your roof. It will cause mold, mildew and even rot. Instead of getting rid of mold and mildew, why not prevent it? If you go up to the attic and notice some water spots or drips, even if there isn’t a roof leak, or if you’ve noticed rusty nails and stained wood, obviously moisture is building up. Having a well ventilated attic will definitely solve the problem.
Insulating an attic is one of the things you can do for your attic or roof problems. But having proper attic ventilation will help even more. There are different types of vents that you can install in your attic. Among the non-mechanical types of ventilation is gable ventilation. It can help in the upper parts of your attic, but it causes variable temperatures. The best ventilation to use would be a combination of soffit and ridge vents. However, keep in mind that this is quite a difficult project to do on your own. You will need to ask your local contractor for help with this task.