Are your attic vents clean for the summer?
How often do you think about your attic vent? Do you know what an attic vent is exactly? Don’t feel bad – most homeowners don’t know what the attic vent is or where it’s located in the home. Attic vents are generally located in the attic of the home and they provide a passage for air to enter and leave the home. They help maintain balanced air flow. Doing this helps the HVAC unit as well. Here’s why.
Typically your home has two types of attic vents: intake vents and exhaust vents. The names explain it all – the intake vents allow outside air into the attic and the exhaust vents is where air escapes out of the attic. Your house needs proper attic ventilation to keep moisture out of the home. Moisture can lead to long term issues like mold build up or dry rotted wood. Plus attic vents help to keep the house from experience extreme heat during the summer.
There are three types of intake vents: soffit, gable and static. Soffit vents can run the roofline and are located in the soffit. The soffit area is near the ridge of the roof. Gable vents are located just below the peak of the roof. Static vents are stationary directly in the roof. They are strategically placed for the best performance and the more you have in place the more circulation the attic has.
By now you probably know there are different exhaust vents – only two though – static and turbine. Yes there is a static exhaust vent just as there is a static intake vent. It is stationary at the top of the home. You have probably seen the turbine type turning on the top of an older home. The turbine attic vents tend to push air through more efficiently. You want the air in the attic to move so your HVAC unit works less. The more heat in the attic, the harder your AC has to work in the summer.
Furthermore, it’s good practice to hire a professional contractor to come in at the change of the seasons to clean the attic vents and make sure they are not blocked by insulation. You want to make sure they do not have dust trapped inside or any other particles blocking the flow of air.
McCauley Electrical Service has a friend in Flory Heating and Cooling. Give Peter Flory a call at 770-205-1238 before the summer gets here so you and your family stay cool and comfortable.