Simple Ways to Improve Attic Ventilation in Your Broken Arrow Home

Proper attic ventilation is key to maintaining good indoor air quality, protecting your roof and regulating interior moisture. It’s also lacking in a lot of homes, and you may not even know it until ice dams form in the winter or you find a nasty surprise in the form of massive mold growth. Here are a few things a ventilation professional can do to improve attic ventilation.

Assess Existing Soffit and Roof Vents

Most attic ventilation relies on a good pairing between soffit vents–that is, those positioned on the underside of the eaves or gables–and the roof vents along your home’s roofline. Air flows in through the soffit vents and back out the roof vents. If either of these are insufficient for your home’s needs, you’ll have inadequate ventilation. Contact a qualified contractor to determine if adding new vents is the right move for your home.

Install High-Efficiency Ventilation Systems

New technology brings a wide range of new solutions for your home, including ways to improve home efficiency. High-efficiency ventilation systems are more expensive to install than traditional vents, but work with sensors that determine the amount of ventilation and when. Many are paired with solar-powered fans that move air through faster without consuming grid electricity. While energy efficient systems have historically been used for commercial and multi-unit applications, they are becoming more and more popular in single-unit residential applications. Discuss your interests and expectations with your ventilation contractor to determine if an energy efficient system would work well in your home.

What You Can Do for Ventilation

As a homeowner, your responsibility to attic ventilation is, essentially, to leave it alone. That is, don’t use your attic for storage or in any way obstruct the existing ventilation system. Check the vents regularly to ensure that they’re free of debris, and have your attic insulation assessed to ensure that you have enough for optimum efficiency in your Broken Arrow home.For more information on how to improve attic ventilation, contact Air Assurance, your premier source for indoor air quality since 1985.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “somchai-rakin/Shutterstock”

5 Popular Myths About Attic Ventilation

Despite being located in one of the most beautiful parts of Oklahoma, Broken Arrow still faces some challenges when it comes to protecting homes from harsh elements. Attic ventilation helps, but only if you make sure your ventilation is optimally designed by avoiding a few common misconceptions.

Myth: Only homes in warm climates truly need attic ventilation.

Fact: Ventilation is important in all climates, but contrary to popular belief, it's even more important in climates with frequent periods of cold weather. Cool, damp weather increases the risk of moisture buildup in your attic, which can lead to mold growth. Ventilation removes this moisture, protecting your attic from damage.

Myth: One or two attic vents is enough.

Fact: Don't assume your attic was built with adequate ventilation because many attics aren't. Passive ventilation systems, including gable vents, soffit vents and turbine vents don't always provide sufficient air exchange. This is especially true if your roof cavity isn't properly insulated. Attic baffles don't always help and are often unnecessary.

Myth: Attics need as much airflow as possible.

Fact: In most attics, 1 sq. ft. of ventilation for every 300 sq. ft. of ceiling space is enough ventilation. Much more than this and you risk creating uncontrolled air leaks. The open spaces in your attic walls may also leave your roof vulnerable to wind damage.

Myth: Powered fans are ideal for providing continuous airflow.

Fact: While these fans can help in some cases, they're not a one-size-fits-all solution. When used, it's essential to seal any air leaks around the attic hatch, dropped soffits and recessed lights. Otherwise, the fan can suck air from rooms into your attic, wasting energy.

Myth: Attic vents make it harder to heat your home during the winter.

Fact: Air sealing and insulation can minimize the amount of heat that enters your rooms, so a cold attic won't make your home cold. It can also prevent ice dams that may damage your roof.

For professional guidance on assessing and optimizing your attic ventilation, contact Air Assurance in the Broken Arrow area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Enrique Ramos/Shutterstock”