Attic Temp Vs Cooling Cost In Florida

Attic ventilation works on the principle that heated air naturally rises primarily utilizing two types of vents.

Attic temp vs cooling cost in florida. The question is what is the ideal temperature of an attic when outside temp is 75. 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. Intake vents located at the lowest part of the roof under the eaves allow cool. They have thermostats that turn the fan on at a recommended preset temperature of 100 110 degrees.

Here are some of the myths and the facts you need to know about attic ventilation. Too many attic vents can cause temperature fluctuations in cold weather months and too little venting will not do enough to dissipate heat in the summer. The ideal temperature for the attic is whatever the thermostat is set to. Understanding whether your home could benefit from some form of attic ventilation might just be if not a life saver a roof saver.

But attic ventilation requires a balance. Blown in insulation is the least expensive option and ideal for older attics. In essence all ventilation is about circulating air to keep it fresh and to reduce moisture levels. Install electric ventilators and attic fans which remove hot air from an attic.

The florida solar energy center fsec has done quite a bit of work in this area and even built a test building called the flexible roof facility to study different types of roof and attic assemblies. Alternatively install passive vents such as gable soffit and ridge vents which are openings in the roof that allow hot air to escape. The typical method for ventilating the attic on an average home is soffit and ridge vent. I ve read where this disrupts the natural flow up from the soffits due to old turbines and new ridge vent.

It can cost anywhere from 1 700 to 2 100 or between 1 50 and 3 50 per foot to insulate an attic depending on what insulation material you choose. I suspect the thinking was the more the better. If it s 90 degrees outside the attic temperatures shouldn t exceed 110 according to home inspector jamison brown of amerispec home inspection services in poquoson. Runs up the cooling cost.

On one hand the national renewable energy laboratory said attic ventilation reduces attic temperature 10 to 25 degrees and slows the transfer of heat into the living space on the other the florida solar energy center university of central florida found that attics with nominal natural ventilation and r 19 ceiling insulation do not. About 90 percent of homes in the us have unreasonably high levels of moisture.