Best Way To Vent Your Attic

Powered attic ventilators are the worst way to try to keep your attic cool.

Best way to vent your attic.

Air flows in through the soffit vents and out through the roof vents. For the best results place roof ventilation near the roof s peak and soffit vents in the eaves. In other words the entire vent opening doesn t count as vented space. Because the simplest and cheapest way to insulate an attic is to add material to the floor.

Generally speaking you need a ratio of 1 300 where for every 300 square feet of ceiling space you need 1 square foot of attic ventilation. That path is supposed to be from low in the attic intake vents to the highest possible exit point in the attic exhaust vents. If two different types of exhaust vents are combined for example a ridge vent and a gable louver the primary path of air becomes the distance between the two types of exhaust vents. As the sun shines on the top of your house the heat is absorbed by your roof.

The soffit vents allow convective air movement from the soffits of the residence to the ridge vent. Hot air exhaust vents located at the peak of the roof allow hot air to escape. This will then make the attic hot. In addition insulation baffles must be installed at the point where the attic floor meets the roofline to prevent the attic insulation from migrating into the cavities and restricting the airflow from the soffit vents.

If you see dampness or frost you need better roof ventilation and some attic vents. Stop using your attic for storage. Vents come in various styles. Adding reflective roofing is another option you might consider when it comes to the best way to cool your attic.

They ve been well discussed here and other places but briefly they re not cost effective don t deal with the problem where it starts are using convection to solve a radiant heat problem and can even be dangerous by backdrafting combustion appliances and. Intake vents located at the lowest part of the roof under the eaves allow cool air to enter the attic. For this kind of system you need soffit vents and ridge vents. But if the floor is covered in plywood you can t stuff enough insulation beneath it to do the job sufficiently not even in warm climates.

That said air resistance and interference such as vent grates reduces the area of true ventilation. Reflective materials keep things cooler. The best form of attic ventilation for your home is a balanced system where the intake vents are separate from the exhaust vents.