Attic Ventilation - Hot Attic? Poor Ventilation makes for High Electric Bills, Low Efficiency and Poor Cooling
Cool your home with free power from the sun Save on Monthly Utility Bills Increase the Life of your Roof
Reduce wear and tear on your air conditioner
Increase the value of your home
Have Gulf Coast Insulation install soffit vents,roof attic vents for better attic ventilation today. In the summer, good attic ventilation reduces heat buildup. That cuts cooling costs and prolongs shingle life. In the winter, warm, moist air seeps into the attic from the living space below. Good ventilation allows the heat and moisture to escape and keeps your attic dry. This article will help you determine whether your attic is properly ventilated and show you how to install more vents.
Do You Need to Add Vents? Here are four signs of an unventilated or under ventilated attic:
Look at your eaves. If you don’t see any vents on the roof or in the eaves, you need to add some. Your roof vents may not look anything like the ones shown in this article. Your roof may have a ridge vent, which is a low-profile, continuous vent running along the peak of the roof. Or it may have gable vents, which are louvered openings at the top of gables.
Touch your ceiling on a warm, sunny day. A hot ceiling tells you that the attic is acting like a solar oven, raising your cooling bills and cooking the shingles.
Thick ridges of ice on your eaves in winter are a sign of poor attic ventilation. Warm air that escapes rooms below gets trapped in the attic. Snow melts and the water refreezes on the cold eaves, creating ice dams.
Warm air that escapes living space also carries moisture that will condense on rafters or roof sheathing. Grab a flashlight and inspect your attic during the winter. If you see dampness or frost, you need better ventilation.
How Many Vents Do You Need? Determine your attic area by multiplying the length by the width. A 30 x 40-ft. attic, for example, has an area of 1,200 sq. ft. Aim for about 1 sq. ft. (144 sq. in.) of vent opening per 150 sq. ft. of attic. The building code lets you reduce that by half under some conditions, but more ventilation is usually better. The open area of a vent is sometimes listed on the vent as NFVA (net free vent area). If not, measure the size yourself. Roof vents will provide about half of the vent area and soffit vents the other half.
Add Baffles in the Attic If your attic is well insulated, the insulation might be plugging the spaces between rafters just above exterior walls. That means air can’t flow from the soffit vents to the roof vents. The solution is to add baffles, which allow air to flow past the insulation (far right ). Installing them can be a nasty job, done in a dark, cramped, dusty space. In an older home, you might also find wood blocking between rafters that needs to be cut, pried or drilled out in order to open an air passage.
Staple baffles into the spaces between rafters so air flowing in through the vents can flow past the insulation
ATTIC VENTILATION & ATTIC VENTS
Attic ventilation is basically the flow of air through your attic. Your ventilation components (type) must provide for the adequate inflow of cooler outside air (soffit vent), and adequate outflow of your hotter attic air (turbine vent illustrated).
So, what’s the fuss about? Ventilation of the home attic is important for two reasons.
During the summer, excess heat that builds up in the attic during the day results in high energy costs for cooling.
Moisture produced within the home may move into the attic if ceiling vapor barriers are not used. If this moisture is not exhausted from the attic, it can condense and cause insulation and construction materials to deteriorate and fail. (Insufficient moisture exhausting can also contribute to mold and mildew problems.)
Thus, temperature (high utility bills) and moisture control are the major reasons for providing attic ventilation.
It's easy being GREEN
Uses sunlight to generate its own electricity
Burns NO fossil fuels
Creates NO pollution
Has an UNLIMITED renewable energy source
As with any attic ventilation fan, the solar-powered fan:
Extends the life of your HVAC equipment
Helps prevent mold and mildew growth
Removes attic heat and moisture
Reduces ice dams
Prolongs the life of your roof
TYPES OF VENTILATION
An attic ventilation system is a fundamental requirement for attic ventilation, and provides for natural wind/air cross ventilation of your roof.
INFLOW VENTS
SOFFIT VENT: INFLOW
Soffit vents are screened intake openings (vents) along the underside of the eaves of the home. This vent provides for the inflow of air.
TYPES OF OUTFLOW VENTS
ATTIC VENT: OUTFLOW (ROOF VENT) There are several types of outflow vents that can be utilized. Selection of an outflow vent is based on how energy efficient you want your home to be. See the options below.
Wind Turbine Ventilators (12" or 14") Non Powered
Wind turbines use the natural force of the wind to create air flow and provide ventilation. The free spinning turbine is self-lubricating, drawing hot humid air out from the attic. Turbines come in two sizes: 12" and 14". The latter provides almost 30 percent more air flow.
Power Ventilators
Power attic ventilators work better than a standard vent, and wind turbine ventilator systems. They are electrically powered fans installed in the roof and are controlled by a thermostat which insures your attic ventilation process. They will work even in the absence of natural outdoor wind/breeze.
Solar Powered Ventilators (Attic Breeze)
The best option by far is the Attic Breeze Solar Powered Ventilator. Using natural resource power, this unit will significantly increase the hot air outflow, which in turn, will result in lower monthly cooling costs. Other benefits of Attic Breeze solar powered ventilators, is they do not use energy (no wires) and will add additional years of life to your roofing materials and other parts of your home.
Tax Credit Buying Guide For Solar Energy Products
Both The Purchase Price And Installation Cost Of A Solar Energy Powered Product Qualify For A 30% Federal Tax Credit And May Qualify For State Tax Credits!
Tax Credit Commonly Asked Questions:
1) Does a solar energy powered product qualify for a federal tax credit?
ANSWER: YES! Both the Purchase Price and Installation Cost of a solar energy powered product qualify for a 30% federal tax credit. The credit applies to equipment placed in service between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2016. IRS Form # 5695 (Download pdf here) is needed to apply for this credit. Enter the installed cost on line 1 of the form.
2) Does a solar energy powered product qualify for a state tax credit?
ANSWER: State tax incentives vary from state to state. Please check http://www.dsireusa.org/ to see if your state offers an incentive.
Solar Powered Ventilation Tax Incentives
Attic Breeze® solar powered ventilation products qualify for federal, state, and local tax incentives. Defined as "qualified photovoltaic equipment", our solar attic fans and commercial ventilation products will offer customers between 30-80% in incentives depending on location. Please note that all customers qualify for the federal tax credit of 30% on both the purchase and installation cost of any Attic Breeze® solar attic fan or commercial solar powered ventilation product. To find out more about additional state and/or local incentives for solar products, click on the DSIRE Tax Credit Database link below.
Gulf Coast Insulation & Roofing. can perform all the energy saving improvements in your home or building including: affordable Insulation, wall insulation, roof repairs, re roofing, Certainteed shingles, roof venting, roof jacks, attic insulation Houston, Pro Pink blown-in insulation, radiant barrier Houston, sprayed radiant barrier, foil radiant barrier, attic ventilation Houston, insulation Sugar Land, wall insulation, Houston, patio doors, sun screens Houston, solar sun screens Houston, and Owens Corning L77 Insulation. Attic Insulation Houston, Insulation Removal, Old Insulation Removal, Efficient Attic Services.
Houston | Sugar Land | Stafford | Mo. City | Richmond | Katy | Memorial | Bellaire | Cypress | Tomball | Spring | Spring Branch | Pearland | Friendswood | Galleria Area | West Houston | Woodlands | Fulsher | Wharton | Needville | West University | Memorial - Villages | Meadows Place | Rosenberg | Clear Lake | Alvin | Pasadena | Houston Texas
If you are looking to insulate your attic, or searching for an attic insulation contractor, roof contractor, roofing installer, roofing repairs, attic insulation ,attic insulation removal, attic clean up, Heat Block radiant barrier, Attic Breeze Solar Fans, radiant barrier contractor, insulation in attic, fiberglass insulation, foam insulation, roof insulation, or radiant barrier installer anywhere in the Greater Houston & Fort Bend County area - you have arrived at the right place. Affordable attic insulation Services Houston & Fort Bend are should be your last stop, we treat your home like ours, pay less for insulation and get more.
Gulf Coast Insulation& Roofing' Local281-564-5432 orToll Free 1-888-83-ATTIC Send Comments, Questions and Requests to: atticpros@aol.com
