Why Your Roof Vents are Important

 

Photo © Master Flow

 

(guest post by Adrian Brito)

You may not realize it, but roof vents are vital for maintaining a healthy roof and for keeping your home’s electric bills under control.

We’re going to look at the purpose of roof vents and how they affect your house.

 

What Is The Roof Vent For?

Think of your roof’s ventilation system like an exhaust system. Air comes into the house, flows through, and then exits through the vent in your roof. Having free flowing roof vents ensures the air circulates properly in your home and that hot air doesn’t hang in the attic, which can cause damage to your roof.

The circulation of air helps to prevent damage to your roof in several ways. First, have you ever seen a house in the winter that has huge icicles dangling from the gutters? That’s called an ice dam, and one of the causes is poor ventilation that causes heat to rise to the attic, which melts the ice on the roof, which in turn re-freezes in the gutters and on the eaves when the temperatures go low enough. When ice dams form, they can cause water damage to your roof. Having an adequate ventilation system helps to ensure these ice dams don’t develop.

Another benefit to roof vents is that they save you money on your electric bills. Your roof gets bombarded by everything Mother Nature has to offer. When the temperature rises, your roof can trap heat, and that heat builds up in your house, which makes your air conditioner work harder ultimately costing you more.

Having a free-flowing roof ventilation system helps to dissipate that heat and, in turn, helps to keep your home’s temperature at a stable level.

 

Which Type Of Roof Vent Is Right?

If your home doesn’t have roof vents right now, or if you feel your ventilation system is inadequate, you need to determine how much ventilation is right for your house. The way to do this is to use a formula that provides for one square foot of vent space for every 150 square feet of attic space. If you’re not sure, you can contact a roofing expert to assess your ventilation needs and recommend a system that’s right for you.

Once you’ve determined how many vents you’re going to need, it’s time to figure out which vents you want to install. There is a multitude of vents to choose from, including ridge vents, gable vents, and soffit vents. Motors also power some vents while others are driven by wind. The thing to keep in mind is that while no one type of vent is necessarily superior to the other, the vents you choose will depend on the climate you live in, the kind of roof you have, and your budget.

Roof vents are generally easy to install, but if you’re not handy, you can always call in a roofing contractor to do the job, which shouldn’t be too expensive.

Having a fully functioning ventilation system will save you money in electricity and make your home more comfortable regardless of the temperature outside.

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