Best Attic Ventilation For Florida

The typical method for ventilating the attic on an average home is soffit and ridge vent.

Best attic ventilation for florida.

I come across many homes that originally had soffit venting and wind turbines at the peak but continuous ridge venting was added later during a re roof. According to the florida department of agriculture and consumer services attic insulation is the most important location and best return on investment okay but why. I suspect the thinking was the more the better. So it s time to pay close attention to what s happening up there.

Attic for example has an area of 1 200 sq. Best ventilation is open soffit venting to a open vented ridge vent. I ve read where this disrupts the natural flow up from the soffits due to old turbines and new ridge vent. One last thought attic ventilation is not there to get rid of heat it is there to get rid of excess moisture accumulating from the home.

Attic ventilation works on the principle that heated air naturally rises primarily utilizing two types of vents. Of attic floor space. This means for every 150 square feet of attic floor space there should be 1 square foot of net free area. The bigger the house for whole house fans or attic space for attic venting fans the higher the cfm figure you need.

First determine your attic area by multiplying the length by the width. Motor power given in amps or horsepower isn t a major factor so long as it generates the required cubic feet per minute. The code minimum for attic ventilation in the 2012 irc section r806 roof ventilation 1 is as follows. The florida building code identifies two distinct climate zones.

In of vent opening per 150 sq. It can do both. A 30 x 40 ft. Intake vents located at the lowest part of the roof under the eaves.

Let s say you measured your attic and you realize your attic has about 9 inches r 30 of insulation and your attic is about 40 sq feet you d need at least 3 inches of extra insulation that covers 40 sq ft to get an r value of r 38. The building code lets you reduce that by half under some conditions but more roof ventilation is usually better. Ridge vent must me installed per the manufactures instructions. Then aim for about 1 sq.

Insulation at least r 38 or more is there for heating and. Proper attic insulation is the best way to prevent heat loss in the winter and retain cool air in the summer. Climate zone 1 consists of the following south florida counties. Heat rises which means it ends up in the attic.

Typically current best home building practices indicate an r 30 to r 38 for attic insulation.