Your roof is one of the essential parts of your home. It helps protect you from harsh weather, regulates your home’s temperature, and plays a significant role in your home’s structural integrity. Roof ventilation started to gain popularity in the mid-20th century and has become an integral part of construction since then. If your home doesn’t already have roof ventilation, it’s probably time to change that!
What is Roof Ventilation
Roof ventilation uses either natural or mechanical forces to move air through the attic of your home, around the roof. The most common roof ventilation is natural ventilation which utilizes an intake and output vent to circulate air. The output vent, or exhaust, is typically located where two roof planes meet and create a ridge. These exhaust vents are called ridge vents. Intake vents allow air from outside to go into the attic, circulating the old air out the exhaust vents. Intake vents are located around the edge of the roof and are commonly called edge vents due to their location. Both intake and exhaust vents are very hard to spot on most roofs and are nearly invisible on some.
The Benefits of Roof Ventilation
Roof ventilation helps to extend the lifespan of your roof and provides great benefits inside the home too! A roof without ventilation is prone to ice dams in the winter. Ice dams occur when snow or ice melts and then refreezes at the edge of the roof. As it freezes and expands, damage can occur to your roofing materials and gutter system. Ventilation helps to regulate the temperature under your roof and allows snow to melt without forming ice dams.
Inside the home, you’ll be able to enjoy lower heating and cooling bills with roof ventilation. Without roof ventilation, heat is trapped in your attic in the summer and makes it more difficult to cool your home. When the heat can be circulated out, your AC won’t have to work as hard to cool the house. You’ll also be able to enjoy more even heating and cooling across the upstairs and downstairs of your house. Older homes without proper roof ventilation tend to feel 10 degrees hotter upstairs than downstairs, and that’s because of all the heat trapped in the attic.
If you think your home is in need of roof ventilation or to find out more about the current ventilation system in place, contact Bay State Exteriors today! Our team is highly trained and experienced with a variety of roof ventilation types so we can find the best fit for your home. The cost of installing roof ventilation will quickly pay for lower utility bills and a higher home value if you ever decide to resell!