Roof Ventilation With Insulation

Baffles are available at home centers.

Roof ventilation with insulation.

Whole house fans powered attic fans. The success of a vented attic or roof deck relies on its airtightness. About attic ventilation natural attic ventilation. If the attic is insulated with fiberglass batts just pull back any that are blocking the flow of air.

Fans and vents may be installed on the roof system that will draw the air out of the attic space and exhaust it to the exterior. The airflow from the soffits to the ridge vent keeps the roof cool and prevents ice dams and the material will block that flow. Good roof ventilation can do this but shingle color sun exposure and insulation are exponentially more important to overall energy efficiency than ventilation. The space above the top plate of exterior walls at the bottom of each rafter bay is especially important.

Covering up the soffit vents with loose fill or batts which can happen if you stuff insulation along the eaves is a huge no no. That means air can t flow from the soffit vents to the roof vents. Intake vents located at the lowest part of the roof under the eaves allow cool air to enter the attic. For the same reason insulation shouldn t touch the roof s underside.

In addition insulation baffles must be installed at the point where the attic floor meets the roofline to prevent the attic insulation from migrating into the cavities and restricting the airflow from the soffit vents. If your attic is well insulated the insulation might be plugging the spaces between rafters just above exterior walls. Attic ventilation works on the principle that heated air naturally rises primarily utilizing two types of vents. Baffles placed in this area channel intake air into either the attic space or vent chutes and also prevent insulation from falling into the soffit and blocking airflow.

Attic fans are intended to cool hot attics by drawing in cooler outside air from attic vents. Insulation is used in an attic for cross ventilation to minimize potential for moisture accumulation and condensation to help energy savings and moisture control. If there s blown in insulation like ours rake back the fluffy stuff with a 3 or 4 ft long 1 x 6 or use a garden rake or hoe. Sure installing roof vents for older homes can reduce your hot air during the summer but there are probably more low risk cost effective ways to increase your home s energy efficiency.

Help protect your roof system from premature deterioration by installing a properly balanced attic ventilation system consisting of cobra exhaust vent at the ridge and adequate intake ventilation at or near the soffit areas of your roof. Traditionally insulation materials that are placed inside of an attic will require air circulation within the attic space to assist in drying excess moisture in this indoor space. The solution is to add baffles which allow air to flow past the insulation photo 9. The soffit vents are now installed but you still need to make sure there s no insulation blocking the new vents.