Why Does My Home Have So Many Roof Vents
Yes, your home needs to breathe!
Your attic and roof both need adequate ventilation to maintain good health. The two major types of roof ventilation are active and passive. The choice between the two depends on your home and the functionality you need from your system. For each 150 square feet of attic space, one square foot of open space is required for ventilation.
What are the different types of boxes and whirly vents that I see on roofs?
DIFFERENT VENTILATION SYSTEMS
Many factors impact a roof’s lifespan, but proper ventilation is one of the most important. Trapped hot and cold air in the attic can dramatically shorten the lifespan of your roofing system.
Box vents are economical passive vents that are very common on homes. Several box vents are placed across the roof near the ridge, giving the warm, moist air in your attic a place to escape.
Soffit vents are the most common type of roof intake venting. Many homes use soffit vents for intake and ridge vents for exhaust. This combination makes up half of the most common ventilation setups. Soffits vents in the eaves of your home come in various styles, but the most popular ones feature openings near the top that let fresh air into the attic and force the heated air out the chimney.
Gable vents are wooden vents installed on the exterior peak of your attic where the two slopes meet. Gable vents rely on wind to ventilate your attic. Cupola vents are more uncommon but another option for some homes.
Ridge vents are popular because they are hard to detect from ground level. The downside to this vent is that they may not shield your attic from outside debris … insects, rain, and snow can enter the attic. Some ridge vents have a baffle, providing a channel for air to flow through. The baffle assists in moving air through your attic.
Turbine vents are another popular venting option. These “whirly” vents are relatively ineffective on days with a light breeze or no breeze at all since the inner blades need winds of at least 5 to 6 miles per hour to activate and spin.
Circular power vents are very common low profile vents installed near the ridge of your roof. They are powered by electricity and are efficient at pulling hot air out of your attic area, however they increase your electrical power usage.
Solar vents are popular from an energy saving standpoint. The downside of solar vents can be that the panel may not hold enough charge to run your system all day, so while the battery is recharging, your air conditioner may be running more, increasing your energy cost.