The high rising temperatures that summer can bring may be causing unwanted wear and tear to your roof structure and shingles. When hot air cannot escape your attic the trapped moisture can encourage premature aging in your roof structure and can also shorten the life span of your shingles. To resolve this issue you need to create a balanced
ventilation exhaust fan.
Whole house ventilation, a building which is well insulated and sufficiently air tight to be energy efficient will generally need some kind of ventilation system to provide fresh air and control moisture. In the past, buildings were ventilated through uncontrolled air movement and infiltration through small cracks and holes in the building envelope, but in energy efficient buildings, those small cracks and holes don’t exist. Some ventilation can be achieved by opening windows and doors, especially with the addition of passive solar ventilation, whole house fans and other spot ventilation. When a central heating or cooling system is in use, however, it would be counterproductive to use any of those ventilation strategies, and some form of whole-house ventilation would be more appropriate.
Exhaust Ventilation Systems work by decreasing the air pressure inside of a building, causing indoor air to leave the building, while outside air enters the building through leaks in the building shell and intentional passive vents. These systems are most suitable in cold climates, as warm, moist outdoor air can condense and cause moisture damage inside building walls. These types of systems are relatively inexpensive and easy to install, but cause higher heating and cooling energy costs than energy recovery ventilation systems, as the incoming air is not warmed, cooled, or dehumidified before entering the building.
Supply Ventilation Systems use a fan to force outside air in to a building, causing inside air to leak out through holes in the building shell and intentional ducts and vents. Unlike exhaust ventilation systems, these systems allow control of where air enters a building, and allow outdoor air to be filtered to remove pollutants and moisture. These systems work best in hot or mixed climates; in cool climates, there is a potential for moisture damage as warm interior air leaks out of the building and moisture condenses in colder parts of the exterior wall. These systems lead to higher heating and cooling requirements than energy recovery systems.
Balanced Ventilation Systems exhaust and introduce roughly equal amounts of outdoor and indoor air. Because they directly supply outside air, it can be filtered to remove pollutants and moisture. Such systems are appropriate for all climates, but like the previous two systems, lead to higher heating and cooling costs than energy recovery ventilation systems. They are also more complicated and expensive than exhaust or supply systems.
Energy Recovery Ventilation Systems transfer heat from outgoing air to incoming air in the winter, and from incoming air to outgoing air in the summer, leading to lower heating and cooling requirements. There are several different types of energy recovery ventilation systems, but they all have a heat exchanger, controls, and one or more fans to move air through the machine. Energy recovery ventilation systems are more expensive to install, require more maintenance and require more electricity to run than the previous three types of systems, but can provide significant energy savings in heating and cooling. They provide the most return on investment in climates with relatively extreme winters or summers and where costs of heating and cooling are high.
