Understanding your roof ventilation options is the best way to ensure that you make the right roof vent purchase. This, in turn, will help you to make sure that your home has enough ventilation, which will ensure that humidity levels and energy costs are kept in line.
In this guide to roof ventilation in the UK, we will examine roof vents: what they are, how they can benefit you, and the different types of roof vents that you can purchase for your home. When you’re ready to learn more and get started – read on and prepare for better ventilation in your home.
We stock a wide range of roof smoke vents and access hatch rooflights, in addition to a collection of ventilated rooflights. Get yours today to improve ventilation in your home.
You can also learn why roof ventilation is important in our helpful article.
What is a roof vent?
Roof vents are ventilators, either small panels or larger, such as in the case of ventilated skylights, which you install on the roof of your home. They can have fans or none, and they can also be made of a wide range of different materials. These allow air to flow into your home. This means that the air won’t get stale or humid in your home, ensuring that the air stays fresh, which can have a wide range of benefits for your home. It can also help to keep your home cooler in summer, as heat buildup will be mitigated.
What are they for?
Roof vents, as well as providing the ventilation that is required in your home, may also be required for a range of other reasons. Some of these include abiding by building codes, keeping your roof in top condition thanks to reduced moisture build-up, or improving interior air quality.
Benefits of roof vents
In this section, we will take a closer look at the key benefits of roof vents and what they can do for your home. Whether you’re interested in reducing your energy bills, keeping the air quality in your home in tip-top shape or more, roof vents can do a lot for both you and your home.
Reduce energy costs
One of the notable benefits of roof vents is that they can reduce your energy costs in both summer and winter. In summer, roof vents can prevent heat build-up in your home, which will reduce the internal temperature of your home. In turn, this means that you will not have to run air conditioning or fans for as long as you otherwise would. In winter, roof vents can reduce ice build-up on your roof, which in turn can make your home warmer, so less heating will be required.
Improve ventilation
Perhaps the most obvious benefit of a roof vent is improved ventilation can make your home a much better place to spend time in. Ventilation can be a difficult thing to achieve in homes without vents, especially if you don’t have enough windows in your home. While extraction fans help, even with these it may not be enough. If so, a roof vent is the best option for increasing ventilation.
Extend roof life
Due to balancing moisture levels and regulating heat levels, roof vents can even make your roof last longer. This is because too much heat can make shingles on your roof break. If your roof is too damp, that can also affect your roof’s lifespan, as it provides a perfect breeding ground for mould and rot. This could make the wood in your roof get weaker. Both of these can cause leaks, which can exacerbate issues and even lead to a roof collapse.
Improve air quality
A roof vent can make the air in your home far better quality. Over time, pollutants like dust, and gases like volatile organic compounds can lead to issues with air quality. Adding a vent allows fresh air to circulate in your home, removing these pollutants and making your home a much more pleasant place to be.
What are the different types of roof vents?
There are many different types of roof vents on the market, ranging from simple ventilation grilles to more complex systems. In this guide, we will explore some of the most common vent types.
Smoke vents
At Toughened Glass Systems, we know how important strong ventilation is. Our roof ventilation options include an AOV smoke vent that can not only ventilate your home, but keep it safe, too. This smoke vent, made of polycarbonate, provides strong ventilation and heat exhaust for buildings with flat roofs, and can be further combined with other important safety features. These include a fireman’s priority switch, a smoke detector and a fire switch.
Roof tile vents
Roof tile vents are designed to increase ventilation to your home without compromising on its aesthetics. They do this by blending into your existing roof, replacing some of your standard roofing. These kinds of vents are available in different colours, but can also be made to match your roof’s existing colour, making them very hard to see while still increasing ventilation.
Slate roof vents
Slate roofs are known for their longevity, but that doesn’t mean that you need to compromise on your property’s ventilation. Slate roof vents are small vents that are coloured the same shade as your existing slate roof, similar to the roof tile vents we mentioned above.
Felt lap vents
Felt lap ventilators are vents that can be easily added to existing housing that has additional insulation in the loft. As the name implies, they are fitted to the felt, at the eaves, allowing for improved airflow in the loft which can prevent the build-up of condensation and its associated problems.
Soffit vents
Soffit vents sit on a building’s soffit, which is underneath the eaves. Fitting vents to this overhanging portion of roof allows for air to flow through them into the attic, where it will continue to rise and exit through a vent higher up in the roof. This functions as a kind of passive ventilation, removing excess heat and moisture from the loft, helping to keep it cool and dry.
Fascia vents
Fascia vents, as the name implies, are installed into the fascia, the long board that runs along the roof’s lower edge. These work similarly to Soffit vents, and draw fresh air into the attic of your property. This ensures that the moisture level and temperature in your attic can remain stable, reducing the likelihood of developing rot or mould.
Learn how to stop condensation on roof lanterns in our helpful guide.
Dry ridge vents
Dry ridge vents are vents that you install onto the ridge of a pitched roof without the use of mortar. The vents attach directly to the roofing material with screws or similar fixings, and may contain weatherproofing to avoid rain or snow finding their way into your attic. These kinds of roof vents tend to be durable, making them ideal as part of a roof ventilation system or alone.
Learn how to stop rain noise on your skylight, as well as the different types of roof vents in our comprehensive guides.
Through wall extraction vent
This kind of vent, also known as exhaust vents or wall-mounted extraction vents, are installed on exterior walls and can be connected to ducts that run through a home, allowing for quick removal of moisture or unpleasant odours. For this reason, they are often fitted in bathrooms and kitchens for improved ventilation.
Vent turbines
Vent turbines are similar to through wall extraction vents, but they tend to be installed on roofs and are unpowered. They use wind power to turn and create a pressure differential, pulling air out of the property. This is a kind of passive ventilation system that can allow for highly efficient ventilation in attics.
Why choose a smoke vent from Toughened Glass Systems?
We hope that by now you have a stronger understanding of your roof ventilation options. So, having explored the vents that can improve roof ventilation in the UK, why should you opt for a smoke vent from Toughened Glass Systems? Not only do smoke vents improve ventilation, they are also a strong safety measure that can make your home safer in case of fire. This is due to their efficiency at venting smoke from your property, as well as the different safety features that are available on these kinds of roof vents.
If you would like to learn more about our smoke vents or have any questions for us, please don’t hesitate to get in touch, and our expert team will be happy to help you.
View our rooflights
We stock an impressive range of rooflights and skylights, including:
Get yours today.
Struggling to decide? Our expert guides are here to make your life easier. We compare opening vs non-opening skylights, flat roof vs pitched roof skylights and electric vs manual opening skylights in our expert guides.
More helpful articles:
-
- Triple Glazing vs Double Glazing
- A Guide to Single Storey Extensions
- Ceiling Decoration Ideas to Give Your Home a Touch of Style
- How to Increase Natural Light in a Room
- How to Make a Room Look Bigger
- Skylight Kitchen Extension Guide
- How to Cover a Skylight in Summer
- How to Open a Roof Window
- Replacing a Skylight: Complete Guide
FAQs
What is the best venting for a roof?
The best kind of roof vent will depend on your property and your specific needs. For the best ventilation that can help to keep you safe in the event of a fire, we strongly recommend our smoke vents.
What are the three kinds of attic ventilation?
The three kinds of attic ventilation are static, powered and mechanical. Static ventilation relies on natural airflow, powered uses fans to remove air from a property, while mechanical ventilation uses mechanical devices such as blowers, and are often part of a larger ventilation network.
How many air vents should a roof have?
The number of air vents that a roof should have will vary depending on the size of the property. In most cases, for each 300 square feet of roof space, there should be one square foot of ventilation space for strong ventilation.
What is the best way to ventilate an attic?
If you have an attic with a pitched roof, you can improve ventilation with soffit vents and ridge vents. These static vents will pull air in to circulate through the attic and force warmer air out of the ridge vents, helping to keep the attic cool and dry.
View our loft ventilation guide for more information, and see what to do when there’s mould in your loft.