Your roof protects you from the weather, but it also does far more than that. It’s an essential part of the natural airflow that keeps your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
Hot air rises, so the cycle of airflow will typically make your attic one of the warmest places in the house. At the same time, your roof absorbs solar radiation, which heats that air more.
To keep your home from becoming a “hothouse” where warm air is trapped or dispersed over the house, homeowners should look to ventilation solutions in the roof and attic.
With appropriate ventilation, warm air can escape from your structure more efficiently. Vents should be placed on top of the roof at the ridge if possible, this works in conjunction with continuous ventilation or rectangular vented holes under the eaves in the soffits. This maximizes airflow in the available space.
During the winter, ventilation has another vital role to play. As snow melts after a storm, a consistent and relatively cooler temperature prevents ice dams from forming. These dams are high ridges of ice that prevent snow runoff and can cause leaks as melted water accumulates.
Of course, there is such a thing as too much ventilation. The right vent configuration must be customized to your roof. Ultimately, this simple fact of Austin roofing can save you a lot of money.
Austin roofing ventilation offers a ton of useful advantages:
Ventilation Keeps You More Comfortable
When air flows more readily through your structure, you are much less likely to have hot zones or cold zones throughout your home. This enhances your comfort and ensures you can maintain the temperatures you want with less time spent at undesirable temperatures.
Ventilation Saves You on Utilities
With fewer temperature extremes in your home, you can run your heater or air conditioning unit less and get the same results. What’s more, your HVAC equipment won’t need to cycle on and off nearly as much. Reducing the spikes in your power consumption saves plenty of money.
Ventilation Works All Throughout the Year
One of the biggest myths about Austin roofing is that roof vents are only for certain climates or certain times of the year. In fact, ventilation is extremely helpful all year round, although its effects are certainly most noticeable during the high heat of the sweltering Austin summer.
Ventilation Makes Insulation More Efficient
To make your roof ventilation as effective as it can be, it’s important to make sure there are no major deficiencies in the attic itself. Sufficient, modern attic insulation is a good way to start, but roofing vents can double its effectiveness, potentially saving money on new insulation.
Ventilation Keeps Shingles Going Longer
By taking the edge off the tremendous heat your roof shingles endure, ventilation keeps them stronger for longer. Unrelieved summer heat can bake shingles from the inside out so they warp and crack. Ventilated shingles are much more durable.
To learn more about roof ventilation, contact us at Longhorn Roofing.
