Effective attic ventilation systems reduce damaging heat and moisture in your attic promote energy efficiency by helping to reduce the load on your air conditioner in the summer and also reduce the risk of ice dam formation on your roof.
Attic vent open in summer.
Your attic acts as an insulation between the terrace and the living room.
Best ventilation is open soffit venting to a open vented ridge vent.
Insulation at least r 38 or more is there for heating and cooling.
Some can have manual switches while others use a thermostat to turn them on and off automatically.
This is most notable in the case of attics.
During the summer this leads to the hot air from the attic seeking out the cooler conditioned floors below.
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.
Also you place it on the roof top or gable mounted.
It can do both.
During this brutally hot summer of 2012 i ve left the garage access door open and it dropped the temperature in the attic substantially.
Since attics are often under insulated poorly sealed and poorly ventilated the temperature environment can be drastically different in an attic than in the rest of the home.
These are exhaust vents that are installed on the ridge of your roof i e.
Typically these devices are used in summer when the temperatures are high exceeding 49 degrees celsius.
Ridge vents are available in a series of pieces or as one long piece.
I think you should do the reverse one.
Hot air is rising so is it smart to open the attic stairs in summer.
The airflow pushes the hot air out which is exactly what you need to keep your attic cool during the summer.
The narrow soffit slits allow air to flow freely into your attic.
Attic fans come with different models.
For having the air conditioner running almost continuously this summer i thought my utility bills were not that.
Ridge vent must me installed per the manufactures instructions.
They need to be open in the summer.
Although air should circulate year round through the attic your house will probably be more comfortable if you cover the foundation vents in the winter.
In the garage is an access door to the attic.