New study finds attic temperatures can pose serious risk if you ve ever been up in your attic on a sunny summer day you know the meaning of hot.
Attic temperatures in middle of summer.
Now as far as adding attic venting because of high temps causing problems with the heat load of the house that would be a good question.
And that can result in real energy cost savings.
The summer sun beats down on the roof of your home pushing attic temperatures over 120 degrees.
If you have a dark color roof on your house the heat buildup in the attic can be unbearable.
The attic should already be vented both high and low as required by the general building construction industry.
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.
And it can cause your air conditioner to work harder than it needs to and send your energy bills soaring with the temperature.
In some cases attic temperatures can reach above the 150 degree mark.
Of course some environments are much hotter than others so this will be the perfect time to measure out how warm your attic will get during the most heated of seasons.
However more often than not.
Actually any temperature over the design temp of the a c system is creating a heat problem.
An unventilated attic can reach 150 degrees in the heat of summer 50 degrees higher than it should be.
When it comes to adjusting the thermostat of your attic s fan it s best to adjust it to approximately 90 to 95 degrees.
This super hot air eventually radiates into the living space resulting in warmer interior temperatures.
Ideal attic temperatures shouldn t be more than 10 to 20 degrees hotter than outside temperatures.
An overheated attic can bake asphalt shingles on the roof and cause them to deteriorate.
Summer attic air temperatures with old terra cotta colored asphalt shingles peaked at 140 to 145 at 18 above the blown in fiberglass insulation layer at the attic floor.
Well pity your home s electrical wiring it has to perform in this superheated environment day.
Yet in summer the attic ventilation helps to keep attic temperatures down.