If you’re living in a temperate climate similar to that found in parts of Australia, you’ll know all about hot and wet conditions. Heat and humidity can make living in your home uncomfortable and if you have poor roof ventilation, it can make these conditions worse.
Fixing poor roof ventilation is possible and the options include taking advantage of natural ventilation systems or installing mechanical ventilation equipment. To solve poor roof ventilation Sydney homeowners are taking advantage of a cost-saving ventilation system.
Read on if you want to find out how to fix ventilation issues in your own home and have more comfortable living conditions. It’s possible to enjoy your space more than you think!
What You Need to Know About Roof Ventilation
Both heat and moisture can build up in your roof because of hot and wet weather. Proper roof ventilation allows this trapped heat and moisture to escape. This helps to keep your home cool during the summer months and minimises infrastructural damage caused by too much moisture.
How Do You Know if You Have Poor Roof Ventilation?
The roof is often the one place homeowners tend to ignore. So, how do you know if you have poor roof ventilation? The following signs are a good indication of this problem:
- Ice dams: If you’re living in a snowfall region and have poor roof ventilation you may notice ice dams forming along your roof line. This is caused by the roof heating up, melting the snow and as it runs down to the edge it freezes again.
- Excess moisture: When moisture can’t escape or builds up because of roof leaks or poor ventilation, mold and mildew will grow. This could become a health hazard. The infrastructure of your home will also show signs of damp and rot.
- Overworked air conditioner: If your AC keeps breaking down on hot summer days it could be because it’s overworking to keep your home cool. Poor roof ventilation means your home will get extremely hot during summer and your AC will break down from overuse.
Looking out for these signs will give you an indication of whether your roof ventilation is functioning optimally or not.
The Benefits of Good Roof Ventilation
Besides keeping your home cool and safe from structural damage, good roof ventilation has the following benefits:
- Saves on high energy bills: You won’t need to run your air conditioner all day to keep your home cool on hot summer days.
- Prevents mould and mildew: Both heat and moisture will provide ideal conditions for mould and mildew to grow. This can be avoided with proper roof ventilation.
- Keeps internal temperatures consistent: You won’t have to battle with some rooms being hot and others being cold all on the same day.
- No roof leaks: With no moisture building up in your roof space, you can have peace of mind your ceiling won’t start to leak.
By ensuring your roof is properly ventilated, you can rest assured your home is safe from unwanted structural damage and costly repair bills.
How to Solve Poor Roof Ventilation
There are two ways of fixing roof ventilation. You can opt for installing a type of vent that uses natural air flow to provide adequate ventilation to the roof. Or, you can install a mechanical vent that uses a motor to provide a constant flow of air. This is a good alternative when your roof doesn’t get adequate natural air flow.
Natural Ventilation Systems
A variety of roof vents are available when using natural ventilation. These include adding ridge vents to the intersection at the top of your roof. Wind turbines can be placed on the top of roof and are designed to circulate air flow and wind in their turbines. This action introduces cooler air to the roof while removing hot air.
Box vents operate on a similar concept to other natural ventilation systems. However, they can be an eyesore on the roof as you’ll need many of them to keep your home cool. Natural ventilation systems don’t always work optimally in hotter climates because they don’t remove moisture from the air.
Mechanical Ventilation Systems
One of the best ways to keep your home both cool and free of moisture is to install a mechanical ventilation system. This includes a motor which is plugged into a power source and uses a fan unit to drive the heat and moisture out of the roof.
Advancement in technology has transformed this system by taking advantage of solar power to drive the motor and fan unit. This means you no longer need to use a traditional electrical power source to operate the mechanical ventilation system. This environmentally friendly option will help you save on energy bills too and if you couple it with a battery backup your system will work even during the night.
Final Thoughts
With so many solutions available to fix poor roof ventilations, there’s no reason for your home to be uncomfortable on hot and humid days. Proper roof ventilation also saves you time and money because you don’t need to call in a repair team to fix structural damages to your home. Make sure you know all the signs of poor roof ventilation and you can be proactive from now on!
