Stanley Atherton

Residential Attic Ventilation in a Hot and Humid Climate: Effects of Increased Ventilation on Thermal Performance and Moisture Control Stanley Atherton

The reality of the effect of natural ventilation in a residential attic cavity has been the topic of many debates and scholarly reports in the field of Residential Building Envelopes since the 1930?s. The purpose of ventilating the attic cavity is to prevent collection of condensate on the structural surfaces and create a thermal buffer between the conditioned space and the ambient air. The current American standards are not specific to climate zone, despite the fact that each climate zone may require ventilation for very different reasons.