Proper roof ventilation is an essential part of a quality roof but is often overlooked by homeowners and contractors. Having the right roof ventilation on your home can help prevent common roofing problems in Park City and ensures that your home is performing properly.

Let’s take a look at what roof ventilation is, the benefits of good roof ventilation, and some problems that can occur if your home doesn’t have proper roof ventilation.

What is Roof Ventilation?

Roof ventilation is pretty self explanatory, it’s a system designed to allow for intake and exhaust of air. Proper roof ventilation in your attic works by allowing air to flow through a homes attic or roof cavity, which prevents excess heat and moisture build up.

Ventilation only works when air flows freely and directionally. The two most common types of roof ventilation are natural and mechanical ventilation systems. Mechanical systems require power to supply electricity to fans while natural ventilation systems take advantage of air pressure dynamics to passively direct air and are the most common systems used in residential homes.

The two main components of your roof ventilation are the intake vents and the exhaust vents.

The most common exhaust vent is a ridge vent. Ridge vents are installed on the top part of your roof(ridge).

Intake vents are usually installed on the edge of a roof or on the soffit of a roof.

By having your exhaust vent at the highest part of your roof and your intake vents at the lowest part, you allow hot air to rise and escape through the ridge vent while cooler air is being sucked up through your intake vent naturally.

3 Benefits of Proper Roof Ventilation

Having a good roof ventilation system installed on your home has a few main benefits.

One of the big benefits of having a well vented roof is reducing your energy costs. By allowing hot air to efficiently escape your home, it helps. maintain cooler temperatures inside of your home during the summer which allows you to run your air conditioner less.

Another benefit of a well ventilated roof is that your can extend the life of your roof by helping reduce or prevent icicles and ice daming. By allowing heat to escape you can avoid melting as much snow of the surface of your roof, which can turn into icicles and ice dams that damage your roof over time.

The third benefit of a well insulated roof is that you can eliminate indoor temperature extremes between floors. We’ve all been in a home where the upstairs feels like its 10 to 15 degrees warmer than the main floor. This is often caused by poor roof ventilation that doesn’t allow hot air to escape. If your roof is properly ventilated, your home will be more comfortable year round.