Attic Vents During Winter

Do not cover your attic vents for the winter.

Attic vents during winter.

Closing your vents makes the attic space too warm and dry dangerous conditions for mold as well as pests. Because heat rises people believe that ventilating your attic during the winter must mean you are letting hot air out. This is a common misconception. If you see dampness or frost you need better roof ventilation and some attic vents.

Believe it or not the cold temperatures outside combined with the warm air down below mean that there can be an excessive amount of moisture building up in your attic during the cold. Roof vents remove warm air during the winter. Vents come in various styles. Grab a flashlight and inspect your attic during the winter.

And the extra heat is not just a summer concern come winter hot attic air can melt snow on the roof during the day only to refreeze when temperatures drop overnight creating ice dams that lead. During cold winter months the attic vent fan is not necessary. They also release excess moisture from your attic during the winter. If your roof vents have been damaged replace them as well as crushed ridge vents to aid in proper ventilation.

Air flows in through the soffit vents and out through the roof vents. This accumulation of ice can end up breaking your gutters. Open vents also ensure that cold air can enter into the attic during winter. Your attic vents perform another job than just releasing excess heat during the summer.

Keeping your roof vents open keeps the roof at an even temperature to prevent damaging ice dams where water backs up underneath your shingles freezing and causing. Small attic vents located below the roof peaks provide sufficient ventilation to let the moisture created by heat rising into the. Make sure the space between the top of insulation and the roof deck s underside is clear. If the attic is too warm during the winter the precipitation frozen on your roof will melt drip down to your gutters and then refreeze.

This is important in colder climates with heavy winter precipitation. If this is true you ve got bigger problems to worry about than letting warm air escape from your home. During the winter roof ventilation works to keep temperatures even. Too many people believe that because heat rises ventilating an attic space during the winter means you re releasing warm air and creating a drag on your heating efficiency.

It s well worth it to keep those vents open and keep moisture out during the winter.