Roof Ridge Vents And Attic Fans

Choosing a ridge vent or an attic fan.

Roof ridge vents and attic fans.

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. Unlike ridge vents attic fans use electricity and need regular maintenance to keep working properly. An attic fan is an active system that actually forces air out. If you have few vents in your attic most of the air will be drawn from inside the house.

A fan may actually suck air conditioned air from your home into the attic. Attic fans can also make a lot of noise. In a properly designed passive system air enters through the soffit. Both also require other vents that bring air into the attic from outside to replace the volume being expelled.

While a power vent fan combined with a ridge vent can work against the natural flow of air through the attic it will still exhaust more hot air than not having a fan at all it s just not the most efficient way to go about it. When you are deciding between a ridge vent or an attic fan consider the needs of the attic. Both attic fans and roof vents offer a means of exhausting stale air.