Understanding the Impact of Attic Ventilation on Home Cooling

Join us on the Check A Pro Radio Show as we talk to Tom from Austin Solar Attic Fans, also known as the 'Attic Fanatic'. In this episode, we address a question that has been puzzling many homeowners: Why should we remove heat from our attics, especially during the summer?

Tom explains that while all attics tend to get hot, the levels of heat can differ significantly. An attic at 165 degrees becomes a virtual oven that radiates energy into the house, making it hard for the air conditioning system to cope. This is why many homeowners find their AC still running late into the night.

The issue gets compounded when there is ductwork in the attic. As air travels through superheated attics, it naturally heats up, leading to higher indoor temperatures. By reducing the attic temperature through proper ventilation, the ductwork performs better, and the air that comes out of your vents is colder, crisper, and has less humidity. This not only cools down your house quicker but also makes it feel more comfortable.

According to Tom, a common misconception among homeowners is thinking they need more insulation when dealing with a hot second floor. However, if the second floor feels warm in the winter, then the problem is not insulation but rather ventilation. With over 15 years of experience and having inspected over 15,000 homes, Tom confidently says that attic ventilation is the key to fixing common temperature control issues.

He expresses his skepticism over the need for excessive insulation, especially in places with a hot climate like Austin, Texas. Lowering the attic temperatures and installing solar attic ventilation are efficient and cost-effective solutions to such issues. The latter is a quick install project that doesn’t involve tearing your house apart.

Towards the end of the episode, we get an endorsement from our host, Jim Klauck, who has personally experienced the benefits of Tom’s services. He appreciates the speed of installation and the significant improvements in indoor temperature and humidity levels. Tom’s insights emphasize the importance of attic ventilation in ensuring efficient home cooling, making this episode a must-listen for all homeowners.

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Jim Klauck, a.k.a. Checker Pro Joe, here on the Check A Pro Radio Show,
talking to Tom, the attic fanatic, from Austin Solar Attic Fence.
Hello, Tom. How are you? I am doing great. How about yourself?
I am doing fantastic. Now, I know the answer to this question,
but a listener wrote in asking what I consider a pretty simple question,

(00:24):
but I guess it's a legitimate question.
Why take the heat out of the attic why are we wanting to remove the heat from
our attic especially in the summertime.
That's actually a good question because i get customers will ask me
now well aren't all attics hot and i will say yes but there's a difference between

(00:45):
hot hot and Africa hot so if we got an attic that's 115 degrees versus one that's
165 degrees yes there we could say they're both hot but one is a virtual oven
but what happens when we have too much heat in an attic is basically thing,
what happens is it fills the insulation up with heat.
And even when the sun goes down, it's still radiating the energy into your house.

(01:06):
And customers will tell me, you know, it's 10 o'clock at night and my air conditioner
still hasn't shut off. It can't keep up.
It's because the attic is too hot. But the main reason I feel like is we have
this duct work in the attic.
So your air conditioner is running, air comes across your coil up in the attic
that cools that temperature down to 40 degrees at that coil.
Well, as the air is traveling through the duct ductwork in this superheated

(01:27):
attic, heat finds cold and it's just heating up the air that's coming back out of your vents.
So when we look at the temperatures coming out of like a bath,
a bedroom vent, like it's in the back of the house, it might be 60 degrees back
there. Now, it started off at 40. We cooled it to 40 degrees.
But as the air is traveling through the ductwork, it's heating back up.
So when we lower this attic temperature, we make the ductwork perform a lot

(01:49):
better because it's not going to have to hold as much heat back.
And what happens is the air that's coming out your vents is colder.
It's actually colder and it's actually less humidity in the ductwork.
So the air feels drier and crisper. So your house cools down quicker and easier.
And then we don't have the heat transferring through the insulation into the
conditioned space of your house.
So it just makes everything much more efficient and much more comfortable.

(02:10):
So if you have a hot second floor, you definitely have to look at ventilation.
A lot of people will call and think they need insulation when they have a hot second floor.
And I'm like, how does does it feel in the winter? Well, it's nice and warm
in the winter. Then it's not an insulation problem. It's a ventilation problem.
I can tell you before I even look at it.
It's always people misdiagnose things all the time.
I've been doing this for about 15 years and I have looked at literally probably 15 to 18,000 homes.

(02:36):
It's usually a ventilation problem. It's something that people don't really
dive into, and it's not really a craft to them. Sometimes it's a secondary thing.
This is what we really perfect, and we really know attic ventilation.
That's why it's called Austin Solar Attic Fans. We really look at the ventilation
of an attic, and that's what we do. We want to lower the attic temperature.
We take the heat load off that attic. You don't really need that much insulation.

(03:00):
Some people are like, oh, let's put an R60 in there. I'm like,
you really think we need two feet of insulation in Austin, Texas? this?
No, we don't. We need about an hour and a third each, about 10 or 11 inches
and lower these attic temperatures.
And then voila, the house is fixed. People can't, we do them and they're like,
I can't believe this. This is unbelievable.
Everybody told me I need more insulation, do this and do all these different
things. And it was such an easy fix.

(03:21):
Solar attic ventilation is very inexpensive.
It's not a big deal. It's quick. We can be in and out. It's a couple hour project.
It's not like we've got to tear your whole house apart.
Very, very in and out and and get it done, get you taken care of.
Very quick. You were in and out really quick when you came to my home,
and it is just a fantastic product.

(03:41):
You want to get that heat out of the attic, let the air conditioning system run more efficiently.
The humidity factor, like you talked about, there's just so many reasons.
It just makes so much sense.
Tom, as always, thank you so much for coming onto the program and explaining
that. No problem. Thank you.