Wildlife Control Summer Fun!

Working In Attics In The Summer Heat Of Florida

In these milder seasons, the outside temperatures are pleasant most of the time. However, solar energy heats the roof, insulation, loft air and ceiling to temperatures that can be uncomfortably warm. An attic radiation barrier stops almost all of the heat transfer down, so you can feel comfortable in mild weather without air conditioning. The heat can also affect the cost of rodent removal in Brevard County heat. The discharge of warm indoor air through your attic and the infiltration of cold outside air through your basement or crawl space could be to blame.

The heat always moves from warm to cold, so that the heat in your living space can easily be conducted through a minimum of loft insulation. The same convection pressure that causes a hot air balloon to rise, pushes the warmest air in your home up through numerous air leaks at sockets, in walls, around the skylight, and through other gaps and cracks in your home. Performing Melbourne FL Rat Removal in the summer can be brutal.

The same goes for raccoons, bats and squirrel removal. Once the sun’s radiation is absorbed, some of the heat is still released outside, but much of it is conducted down through the roofing material and roof terrace. There it shines down into the attic and heats the insulation, the frame, the cables and the boxes with Christmas tree decorations. A radiation barrier can help by reducing the amount of heat that is radiated downwards. Powered loft fans are the worst way to keep your loft cool. Its roof surface warms up in the sun and emits infrared heat. When this infrared heat heats up the radiation barrier, it does not give off or give off the heat to your attic. Cooking a turkey and painting light bulbs are simple analogies, but the same principles of physics apply to radiant barriers in the attic. Aluminum foil over the attic reflects the heat radiated from the roof.

Heat conduction: direct heat flow through a solid object such as a wall or ceiling. Radiation: Movement of heat rays through air spaces from one warm object to another cooler. The heat we feel from a wood stove or a quartz room heater is an example of radiant heat. Even the insulation in your attic gives off radiant heat to the cold loft room in winter and to the living room in summer. The best radiation barrier for your attic depends on your local climate. In hot climates, where most of the radiant heat entering the attic comes from sunlight, radiation barriers should be draped down from the attic ceiling or installed between the roof beams. In cold climates, the best radiation barriers are installed on the attic floor so that they can conduct the radiant heat from the house back to your living space.

Another loft condensation problem that is separate from the one discussed above, but still relates to the outside moisture entering the loft through loft vents, sometimes occurs with metal roofs and an attic radiation barrier. In this case, condensation forms on the underside of metal roofs or radiation barriers at night, which are exposed to damp attic air. In modern homes, the challenge of achieving a continuous air and thermal barrier on the interior ceiling level is particularly difficult. During the summer, excess heat that builds up in the attic during the day leads to high energy costs for cooling. Moisture generated in the house can also reach the attic if no ceiling vapor barriers are used. If this moisture is not removed from the attic, it can condense and damage the insulation and building materials. Therefore, temperature and humidity control are the main reasons for ventilation in the attic. Both the heat transfer through ceilings and to roof duct systems can make up a large part of the maximum cooling requirement. Loft ventilation has long been known as a method of reducing such heat gains. We present test results from using roof fans for photovoltaics (PV) in a test home to assess the impact on loft performance and cooling energy.

A case study with fans for photo-voltaic attics was carried out on an inhabited family home in central Florida. The house already had an attic radiation barrier, but attic air temperatures were still above 130 ° F. When comparing periods with similar weather conditions, the test found that the PV ventilation fans have the potential to lower the measured summer peak loft temperatures by over 20 ° F. The effects on the cool season, however, are quite small with well-insulated attics. Another phenomenon that emerges from building research in cooling-dominated climates shows that an air leak in the duct system can lead to negative pressures inside the house when the ventilation system is in operation. The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) has conducted numerous trials in test buildings over the past decade to determine the potential of a variety of methods to reduce attic temperatures in residential buildings in Florida. The air temperatures in the attic vary considerably depending on the type of roof, color and ventilation. Proper ventilation is also important in the summer months when the heat rises from the house to the attic. Hot air trapped in the attic can heat roof shingles from below and increase the risk of roof damage.

Hot, humid air trapped in attics can also cause moisture to build up, causing mold or mildew. In much of Florida, it’s not uncommon to have an outdoor dew point of 24 ° C (75 ° F) and an attic dew point of 29 ° C (85 ° F). When the surface temperature of the attic is lower than the dew point of the attic air, condensation occurs. The dew point in the attic can be higher than the dew point in the outside air, as moisture stored in the wooden roof frame is released during the day. Wowza! In case you work inside, at a cubical, or office building in a suit and tie, and haven’t seen the sun recently. I’m here to tell you we are in “Full Blown, Florida Summer Mode”! Yes, I know what you’re saying “Hey Jerry (that’s me), I went outside and got mail when I got home at 5:30 after work, I completely understand what you’re talking about”. Ummmmm, how bout nope! Yes I realize it can get over 100 degrees outside in the sun, and yes I agree it is defiantly hot, it pales in comparison to some of the environments we have to deal with on a daily basis.

Here is a picture I took while on a roof the other day. it was about 11:30 am! Not even the hottest part of the day! This was on a medium colored shingle roof. Not a dark colored or metal roof, where I have recorded temperatures well over 200 degrees, it’s enough to literally melt your shoes.I have literally had burns on my arms and legs, through protective clothing from doing roof work in the summer. While 159 degrees is certainly hot, at least there was a nice breeze which made it feel like a chilly 140 ish. Go see how long you can last in your attic, crawling through fiberglass insulation, with a flashlight, and a respirator on. It always close to 180 degrees at a minimum, with absolutely no air movement, and having to breath through a respirator, while chasing animals. Not fun, but definitely beats, trying to figure out Excel Spreadsheet formulas, lol.

I’ve had corporate jobs and lucky enough to always work in air condition pretty much my whole life, but nothing beats the rewarding feeling that you get when you literally save an animals life from either being abandoned in an attic, or killed by a dog or shot by an idiot in their back yard. A large part of the reward comes from helping people, who are literally at their wits end from seeing rats inhabitant with them in their own house, or seeing frightened children smile again after you get that thumping noise at 2 am out of their attic, that turned out to be a mother opossum and her babies. This job literally has more rewards than any corporate job I’ve ever held. Most days it doesn’t even feel like a real job. I guess you could say we’re kinda like modern day superheroes, only our special powers are being able to withstand a lot of heat and not get bit (yet) by animals in attics.