Attic Ventilation - Your Trusted Roofing Experts

The hot and humid climate can be tough on attics, making proper ventilation a crucial aspect of home maintenance. However, despite its importance, attic ventilation is often misunderstood, leading to costly mistakes and uncomfortable living conditions. In this blog post, we will debunk the top attic ventilation misconceptions and provide practical solutions to correct them

An attic is the topmost part of your residential property. It is also the hottest space in your home that traps moisture and warm air if it remains sealed. Attic vents, on the other hand, regulate this trapped air by allowing fresh air to come inside the attic and the stale air to flow outside. This continuous airflow keeps the attic moisture-free and cool. 

Attic ventilation works on the basic principle that suggests hot or warm air rises, leaving a space for fresh air to enter. As the warm air inside your home rises, it gets trapped in the sealed attic, finding no way to escape. If this warm air remains trapped inside the attic for a long time, it becomes a cause for roof deck deterioration. Roof vents allow the moist and humid air to escape the attic and allow fresh and cool air to replace it. 

Proper attic ventilation is crucial for maintaining a healthy and comfortable living environment in your home. An effective attic ventilation system can provide numerous benefits, including regulating temperature and humidity levels, reducing energy consumption and costs, and preventing damage to your roof and insulation. By allowing fresh air to circulate through the attic, ventilation systems also improve indoor air quality and prevent the buildup of moisture and mold. In addition, a well-ventilated attic can extend the lifespan of your roof, preventing costly repairs and replacements. 

Homes without an attic can also benefit from proper ventilation. For example, homes with cathedral ceilings can experience heat buildup and moisture retention, which can lead to issues like condensation and mold growth. In addition, homes with crawl spaces can also benefit from ventilation to prevent moisture buildup and improve air quality. 

With all these benefits, it’s clear that investing in a proper ventilation system is a smart and necessary decision for homeowners in Vancouver.

Roof vents come in two forms: intake vents and exhaust vents. Intake vents, such as soffit vents, bring fresh air into the home, while exhaust vents, like ridge vents, help the warm air to escape your attic. Exhaust roof vents also create a vacuum or negative pressure inside the attic to draw cooler air into the space. This is how attic vents regulate and maintain the temperature and humidity in your home. By regulating the air in your attic, you can reduce the risk of future roof damage. However, many misconceptions, which we’ll debunk today, prevent some homeowners from installing them on their roofs or attic. 

You might have heard roofers bring up ridge vents while installing or replacing your roof. These are exhaust vents installed on your roof along the peak, otherwise known as the ridge. These vents work best in combination with soffit vents, which are installed along the eaves of your home. Since ridge vents are a type of exhaust roof vent, they draw the hot and humid air out of the attic, while soffits vents bring in the natural air from the eaves. Ridge vents provide consistent ventilation to your home across the entire span of the roof. 

As opposed to ridge vents or exhaust vents, soffit vents are intake vents that work to draw the outside air inside an attic. They are installed on the underside of the roof overhang, known as the soffit. They are a common type of intake vent used in attic ventilation systems because they provide continuous, and evenly distributed, airflow to the attic space. 

In simple terms, by drawing fresh air inside the attic, soffit ventilation pushes the hot and moist air up to the top of your home to escape out exhaust roof vents like the ridge vent. 

Installed on the gable ends of your roof, gable vents are exhaust vents that draw the stagnant air of the attic outside. Gable vents are available in various shapes and sizes, such as rectangular or triangular. They are often used in combination with other types of vents, such as soffit vents, to achieve proper airflow in the attic. If you have a gable roof you are likely to have gable vents installed on both open ends of your roof. Typically homes have two gable vents, but if you have a complex roof design, you may have multiple gable vents installed to draw hot air out of your attic. 

Roof vents, also known as static vents or box vents, are exhaust vents that are installed on top of your home. They are typically square or rectangular in shape and can be installed individually or in series to allow hot air to escape from the attic. Roof vents work by creating negative pressure inside the attic, which draws air out from the attic space. They are commonly used in combination with intake vents to establish a balanced attic ventilation system. 

Attic fans can be installed as exhaust fans, intake fans, or in combination with other types of vents. They are typically controlled by a thermostat or humidity sensor and can effectively promote airflow and reduce heat buildup in the attic. Furthermore, attic fans are vents that operate using electricity and play an active role in ventilating the attic. These fans help regulate the temperature inside the attic, increase the longevity of the roof, and improve the energy efficiency of the house by pushing hot air outside, which is drawn in through intake vents.