Does your commercial building need a vented attic?
Are vented attics or conditioned attics better for commercial buildings?
Business owners have been asking this question for years. Vented attics have been around for centuries. If your building has a vented attic, rest assured that there’s nothing inherently wrong with vented attics. The best way for vented attics to be energy-efficient is by having both an airtight ceiling and proper air flow for the vents.
The ventilation access and air flow of a vented attic needs to meet two important criteria:
- 1:150 ratio for cross ventilation
- 1:300 ratio for balanced ventilation
The design of your building for the purpose of a vented attic means you may need to apply more insulation or caulk around certain openings in the building envelope, such as skylights, can lights, exhaust pipes, and more. If a building is properly secured, a vented attic can be an excellent solution for your building’s energy.
The problem is that very few builders, if any at all, are going to position the building’s mechanical system inside the building. The real estate that the mechanical system requires is too valuable. So, you can either redirect the ductwork through drop ceilings, soffits, and all other forms of retrofitting nightmares, or there’s another way.
R&A Contracting can apply a layer of spray foam on the underside of the attic’s roof deck to alter the building’s energy envelope. This creates a conditioned attic that protects your building’s interior with the hassle of redirecting ducts and other important building elements.
If you have questions about how to change your vented attic into a conditioned attic, we’d love to talk with you. Contact our R&A Contracting team here to start a conversation. We serve the greater St. Louis area and we love helping our neighborhood business owners, like yourself, keep a safe and energy-efficient roof over your head.
