With the recent hot spell across much of Europe, overheating in homes is back in the headlines. As expected, there's plenty of discussion about air conditioning and the trend towards very large south facing windows, but much less attention seems to be paid to roof ventilation.

I'm not a builder or roofer, so this is a genuine question rather than a statement. It seems to me that relatively few homes have the recommended level of ridge ventilation. Perhaps I'm simply not noticing the more discreet ridge vent systems, but ridge ventilation appears to be much less common than soffit ventilation.

In room in roof houses, particularly where rigid insulation has been poorly installed, could inadequate roof ventilation, especially a lack of ridge ventilation (lacking the stack feect), be a significant contributor to overheating? I'd be interested to hear the views of those with experience in roofing or building physics.