Soffit Vents

Soffit vents are the intake side of your attic ventilation — fresh air comes in low through the soffits, rises as it warms, and exits through ridge or gable vents up top. Without adequate intake, your exhaust vents are just sitting there doing nothing because there's no airflow path. We've seen attics where someone added a powered roof vent but never opened up the soffits, and all they did was depressurize the attic and pull conditioned air through ceiling penetrations. Waste of electricity and actually made things worse.

The rule of thumb is one square foot of net free ventilation area for every 150 square feet of attic floor, split roughly even between intake and exhaust. Most soffit vents list their NFA (net free area) on the spec sheet — that's the actual open area after you account for the screen and louvers. Don't just count the rough opening; the screen alone can cut airflow by 25% or more.

Spacing matters too. Distribute soffit vents evenly along both eaves so air enters the attic uniformly. Clumping them all on one side creates dead spots where heat and moisture collect. And make sure insulation isn't blocking the vent openings inside the attic — rafter baffles solve that problem and cost almost nothing.

Our soffit vents come in copper and stainless steel with insect screening. They hold up decades longer than vinyl or aluminum soffits, and they won't become brittle in cold weather or sag in the heat.