Ceiling Loft Ventilation


Ceiling ventilation is used to move a large amount of air through your home’s loft space. The reason that ceiling ventilation is important is because if the air in a loft doesn’t have anywhere to go, it will get extremely hot. If this occurs, it can cause structural damage and mold growth. Additionally, because this extremely hot air will impact other areas of your house, it will raise your monthly utility bill.

How Do You Ventilate Your Loft’s Ceiling?

One of the reasons that unventilated loft spaces get so hot is because their components aren’t designed to deal with heat. While human bodies have mechanisms that can naturally deal with heat, the same isn’t true for insulation or lumber. Instead of shedding excess heat, these components will just continue to absorb it. There’s a good chance that there is already some form of ventilation in your loft. Most loft’s have at least a few static vents.

Although they’re better than nothing, the problem with static vents is since they operate by convection, they aren’t able to move enough air to truly cool down a loft. Since the key to ventilating your loft’s ceiling is moving plenty of air, you may think turbine vents are the answer. While this type of vent does work well in windy areas, it’s not very effective in places where the wind doesn’t consistently blow.

Complete Wide-Open Ventilation is the Best Solution

If you want to get the best results from your ceiling loft ventilation, you should opt for complete wide-open ventilation. The reason this option works best is because it maximizes the amount of air that moves in from the lower section of your roof. However, one common issue with this method is that people reduce its effectiveness by blocking the flow of air with insulation. If insulation is between the soffits and loft space, air won’t be able to flow through it. As a result, not only do you want to make sure that rolls of insulation aren’t over these areas, but if you eventually blow more insulation into your loft, you will want to check the vents to make sure they’re still clear.

Should You Add an Electric Fan to Your Loft?

If you want to keep your loft space as cool as possible, you will probably want to use an electric fan. This option can work very well because it pulls hot air away from your loft’s:

  • Insulation
    • Framing timbers
    • Roof sheathing
While an electric fan can ensure that the air throughout your loft is always moving, the one tradeoff is that this type of ventilation requires energy. As a result, instead of reducing your monthly utility bill, it can actually add to it. Because this can be a significant tradeoff, you will need to look into whether what you will gain from this type of ventilation will justify its cost. Even if you ultimately decide a fan’s not the right fit for your loft, you will still be very happy with the results you get from complete wide-open ventilation.

 

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