Your roofing system needs balanced attic ventilation to perform at its best. There are several different types of ventilation systems available if you're replacing your roof in Flushing. We'll take a look at them and discuss the importance of different vent systems.
There are several types of roof and attic ventilation products available for your home. You’ll often see them referred to as:
Roof vents
Attic fans
Gable vents
Louvers
Attic and roof ventilation products are categorized as either:
Intake ventilation
Exhaust ventilation, or
Both intake and exhaust
Why Do I Need Intake & Exhaust Vents?
Every attic ventilation system should have a combination of properly placed intake and exhaust vents.
Roof vents and attic fans work year-round to:
Remove warm, moist air
Reduce condensation
Keep your attic drier
Allow pressurized heated air to escape so it doesn’t force its way into conditioned spaces
The key to ideal ventilation is having the correct amount of both types. Having only one or an uneven amount of one type of venting can lead to pressurization problems.
Intake Vents
Intake vents do just as their name suggests — they take in air from the outdoors. This fresh air goes into the attic and replaces the air that went out from the exhaust vents, helping to ensure balanced airflow.
Intake vents are typically placed under the eaves of the roof. They help the exhaust vents in the attic do their job more effectively and assist in controlling energy costs.
There are two types of intake vents: soffit vents and roof-mounted intake vents.
Soffit Vents are the most common type of intake roof vents, and they’re placed underneath the roof eaves all along the length of your house or between the joists. Roof Intake Vents If your home has no soffit or exposed rafters under the eaves, a roof mounted intake vent can be used to provide adequate air intake. These vents have a low profile that blend into the roofline.
Exhaust Vents
Exhaust vents allow air to flow out of the attic to the outdoors. Attic fans and ridge vents are two examples of exhaust vents, and these are typically placed higher on the roof, often the highest pitch where hot air tends to gather.
Ridge Vents
Ridge vents, as the name implies, run along the very top of a roof on the ridge, typically where the two sloping portions of a roof meet. They’re ideally placed to catch the wind blowing over the roof, which helps expel moisture and heated air from the attic.
Static Roof Vents
Static roof vents or roof louvers permit air to escape the attic and are placed flat on the roof and evenly distributed near the ridge.
You might find these listed under various names depending on the region in which you live, such as:
Slant-backs
Box vents
Turtle vents
Half-rounds
Off-ridge vents
Attic Fans
Attic fans are typically located on a wall inside the attic. Their job is to pull air from the attic and vent it to the outside. Attic fans can move large amounts of hot or humid air from an attic, which can help keep your heating and cooling costs in check. Homeowners can gain more control over ventilation by turning attic fans on and off as needed.