WHY ROOF VENTILATION IS IMPORTANT – FAMILY ROOFING

Posted on by David Reid

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WHY ROOF VENTILATION IS IMPORTANT

1. Prevents Condensation, Mold, and Rot

One of the most important aspects of proper roof ventilation is to help prevent condensation, which ultimately leads to mold and rot.  Your home produces a lot more moisture than you think.  Laundry, showers and bathing, cooking and more all produce warm, damp air inside the living space of your home.  This moisture gravitates upwards to your home’s ceilings, and if a vapor barrier is not in place, it eventually lands in the attic.  If a cool surface, like the underside of your roof, is reached by the warm air, it will condense.  The condensation caused by this “trapping” of air can create an unhealthy environment prone to the biological growth of mold and mildew.  Properly ventilating your roof and attic space keeps your insulation dry and prevents these condensation-caused damages.

2. Increases Energy Efficiency

Ensuring you have proper attic and roof ventilation helps to reduce your home’s cooling costs by allowing heat to escape.  As the temperatures outside begin to rise, the temperature inside your home does too.  If you do not have proper ventilation, the heat will be trapped inside your home’s attic, causing your air conditioning to work harder.  If proper ventilation is in place, it can lower both your home’s cooling and operating costs.  Another way to increase your home’s energy efficiency is by installing a cool roof.  A cool roof system will create a higher solar reflectance and thermal emittance compared to other standard roofing materials.  These metal roofing systems are designed to absorb less heat, therefore even further increasing your home’s energy efficiency.  Combined with proper ventilation, you can lower your cooling costs.

3. Increases Roof’s Lifespan

Not adequately ventilating your roof and attic can dramatically reduce the lifespan of your roof.  Condensation, rot, and mold can be a result.   A non-ventilated roof can also cause extremely hot attics, where the heat builds up and eventually causes damage to the wood framing, rafters, underlayment and more.  Ensuring your roof is evenly and properly ventilated helps that air to escape and extends the lifetime of your roofing system.

4. Reduces Indoor Temperature Extremes

If you’ve ever walked upstairs and felt a drastic change in temperature, it may be a result of poorly or not ventilated roofing.  Indoor temperature extremes can be avoided with proper ventilation. It allows hot air to escape and cool air to enter the space.  This can also help prevent super-heated attics, which can also impact your heating and cooling costs.  Overall, ensuring proper ventilation will help your home be more comfortable during the entire year.

5.  How Does Roof Ventilation Work?

To ensure your roof is properly ventilated, you’ll need both intake and exhaust vents.  Intake vents will be installed at the bottom of the roof, oftentimes in the overhangs.  Exhaust vents are typically placed near the peak of the roof.  These two vents help create a continuous air flow throughout the attic.  The outside cooler air will get drawn into the intake vents, as the warm, humid air will migrate through the exhaust vents, allowing the hot air to rise and escape.

Ideally, there should be equal amounts of both types of vents to ensure the air can flow through the space freely.  If you’re unable to install equal amounts of vents, it’s best to have a few more intake vents than exhaust.  This creates a slightly pressurized system that helps the air flow nicely.  Aim to install equal amounts of intake and exhaust vents as we mentioned to ensure proper ventilation.  If your roof has a very steep pitch and your attic has a greater volume, you may need to increase the amount of ventilation.

Ensuring your attic and roofing system is properly ventilated is one of the best steps you can take to keep your home more comfortable. It allows your roof to perform as best as possible.

Types Of Roof Ventilation

Few standard vents useful in roof ventilation systems involve ridge vents, static vents, and gable vents.

Static Vents

The horizontal openings, mainly vent-covered holes in the roof that enable air movement to take space, are called static vents. Static ventilation utilizes natural convection or wind for transferring the cool air to the top.

Ridge Vents

Ridge Vents run continuously along the roof peak. This sort of vent offers the external baffle for increasing airflow and protecting your house from snow and rain.

Power Vents

Power vents utilize electric or solar power for running motors to drive out the roof’s air.

Gable Vents

Gable Vents are added at the end of the roof and can be helpful with other sorts of vents.

Exhaust Vents

Exhaust Vents enable exhaust to get out, such as box vents, cupola vents, whirlybird/wind turbine vents, hip vents, intake vents, fascia vents, soffit vents, and drip-edge vents, etc.

Signs Or Warnings Of Bad Roof Ventilation

  1. Below are some indicating signs that point towards the correct roof vent

    • Mold growth or any other sort of natural growth under the attic and roof space.  It is a common sign because of dampness caused by ventilation absence.

    • There is additional heat present in the attic space in the summer months.

    • If you find water drops from the nail’s edge, it can lead to leakage of the roof.  It can show an absence of correct roofing ventilation.

    • If you find frosting on sheathing or other items in the attic, it can show you bad air ventilation.

    • The presence of any increase in temperature on the stairs or other rooms indicates a sign of a lack of roof ventilation.  Extreme cold or different hot spaces in the house are another sign that your roof ventilation is improper.

    • If house owners avoid the warning signs of bad roof ventilation such as roof leaks, mildew, and mold, it can cause severe issues for the health and home.

    • The roof vent is poor when you observe the unnecessary pests found inside. It leads to damage to the home’s outside, such as gutters, siding, or roof.