Did you know that on a hot day, 90 degrees or more, without a solar roof vent – it could be 160 degrees in your attic! So it’s hot up there. It couldn’t be that bad, right?
Homes are built with ventilation to the attic space, under the eaves, at the gable ends, and sometimes along the ridge of the roof, but without a fan to pull the air through, it’s like having a nose and mouth to let air in, but no muscles at work pulling air into your lungs.
Inside your house, that heat is radiating down into your rooms. Even with appropriate insulation for your temperature zone, without adequate attic ventilation, your utility bills could be higher than necessary. That is because R-values of insulation measure resistance to the transfer of heat, but they are based on a temperature difference of about 20 degrees between the two sides of the insulation. An 80 degree difference means less resistance, and that heat is crossing into your living space and raising your utility bill.
Back in the attic, it is also cooking your roof from the bottom up, decreasing the lifetime of roofing shingles, but not metal or tile roofs. The heat also is baking your wood framing and drying out the roof structure.
What about in the winter, warmer is better right? Actually, having that attic ventilated in the winter means that when it snows, it will melt at an appropriate rate and not cause ice dams.
Icicles at the roof edge seem old fashioned, quaint, and attractive but are a sign of potential damage. Proper ventilation also prevents moisture from condensing inside the attic and damaging insulation and wood with mould and mildew. Installing a solar roof vent reduces cooling costs without using electricity and benefits your bottom line.
Written by: https://roof.net/
