High Energy Bills And Your Crawl Space
How Your Crawl Space Vents Are Costing You A Bundle In Utility Bills
Crawl space vents are meant to keep your crawl space dry by circulating air throughout the space.
But what are they during during humid summer weather, rainy weather, and during the cold winter months?
More about Crawl Space Ventilation
Nowadays, it's harder than ever for homeowners to keep pace with rising energy costs. Tens of thousands of dollars are being spent on replacement windows, new HVAC systems, attic insulation... all in the name of keeping utility bills at a minimum.
Meanwhile, these same homeowners are often maintaining open crawl space vents under their home -- which are literally pouring unconditioned outside air into their home.
The "Whole House" Energy Saving Approach
Your house is a system -- and every part has an impact on the heath, energy use, and stability of the other.
Your house is built out of thousands of smaller pieces -- nails, boards, pipes, wires, air ducts, and much more. As they shrink and expand at different rates, air leaks form.
Unless these air leaks are sealed, air will pass through them. Therefore, if your attic is leaky, the entire house may be affected. Likewise, if your crawl space is filled with damp or cold air from the outside, this also affects the rest of the house.
Sealing your crawl space will keep unconditioned, potentially damp air out of your home. Many of our products for crawl spaces do double-duty, sealing and insulating the space for maximum energy efficiency.
It costs you nothing to contact us for a a crawl space repair estimate! To schedule an appointment with your local, authorized Basement Systems Dealer, contact us by phone or e-mail today!
When air in your home is warmed, it rises upwards, exiting through your attic and upper levels.
As it leaves the home, a vacuum forms in the lower levels, which is filled with air from your crawl space, basement, and from the outside.
More about The Stack Effect
A Vented Crawl Space Costs You Money!
Why do people have a crawl space at all? Many homeowners go days, months, or even years without accessing the space. Many are not appropriate for storage, and they can lead to countless issues with mold, rot, and pest infestations.
So Why Do We Have Crawl Spaces?
The truth is that crawl spaces are built because they cost less to construct than other methods. Concrete slabs are costly and time-consuming to design, and a basement costs even more.
A crawl space saves the builder money, installs quickly, and provides a convenient place to store utilities, pipes, air ducts, and other utilities.
Crawl Space Vents In The Winter
If you have a vented crawl space, however, then cold air is literally pouring into the space in the winter.
If your water heater, hot water pipes, furnace, and hot air ducts are left out in the cold, then they have to work harder than ever to perform the way they're meant to -- which is costing you a lot of money!
Humid Air Is More Expensive To Cool!
Along with cold air costing you money, humid air is more expensive as well. A large portion of the workload of an air conditioner is to dry the air as it cools it -- hence the dripping you see with window-mounted units.
The problem is that air conditioners and HVAC systems are not very efficient dehumidifiers. They will use a lot more energy to operate when the air is hot and humid, leading to another major energy bill spike for you.
Warranted Products To Seal Your Crawl Space
At Basement Systems, we've pioneered the crawl space industry for decades. Our warranted crawl space system has been installed in hundreds of thousands of basements worldwide -- and we'd be glad to customize a system that's right for you.
Sealing a crawl space minimizes many of the disadvantages that come with a vented crawl space installation -- including issues with moisture, pests, and energy penalties.
When sealing a crawl space, our contractors will recommend the following three products:
The CleanSpace® Vapor Barrier
Our crawl space vapor barrier system is designed with a durable, poly-reinforced 20-mil design that include a 25-year warranty against wear and tear.
It's tough enough for regular use from service workers and homeowners alike, and sports a bright white color to maximize available lighting.
Installing the CleanSpace® Liner on the crawl space walls and floors will hold back moisture that would otherwise enter through the dirt floor and directly through the concrete walls.
More about the CleanSpace® Vapor Barrier System
CleanSpace® Vent Covers
Some contractors will install the vapor barrier and call the job done. At Basement Systems, we know that vents bring the lion's share of moisture into a crawl space that isn't flooding.
We know that these vents bring in cold air in the winter, humid air in the summer (which means condensation on surfaces), and wet air during rainy or foggy weather. We also know that termites, rodents, and other pests can use these vents as an access point.
We strongly recommend sealing all vents with airtight covers once the vapor barrier is installed.
More about our CleanSpace® Crawl Space Vent Covers
Crawl Space Doors & Access Wells
Once the liner has been installed and the vents are covered, your crawl space has one weak point left: the crawl space door and/or access well.
Old-fashioned crawl space doors are drafty, rotting, and falling apart. Some doors have no cover at all, and are sitting wide open at the bottom of an access well! What happens if that access well fills with rain or snow?
At Basement Systems, we provide a full line of crawl space access products, including our access wells, airtight doors, and our innovative Turtl™ Access Well.
More about our Crawl Space Door Systems
Crawl Space Insulation Products
If you've sealing your crawl space already, then this is the idea time to consider insulating your crawl space. There are products on the market that do double duty -- sealing the space and insulating it at the same time.
At Basement Systems, our experts can seal and insulate a crawl space quickly -- often in less than a day. Our insulated products are inorganic and waterproof -- making them ideal for the unique crawl space environment.
Our installers recommend the following two products for crawl space insulation:
SilverGlo™™ Wall Insulation
SilverGlo™ is a waterproof foam insulation product made with the crawl space environment in mind. It's designed with with graphite impregnation for enhanced efficiency and to create a reflective radiant heat barrier on the wall.
When installed on the crawl space walls, it creates a complete vapor barrier, while also providing an industry-leading R-11 insulation layer. Its inorganic design will not support mold growth or absorb water.
SilverGlo™ can also be integrated with our crawl space waterproofing system, directing water from the walls into the perimeter drain.
More about our SilverGlo™ Crawl Space Wall Insulation
TerraBlock™ Floor Insulation
Our TerraBlock™ Crawl Space Floor Insulation is custom-made to remained durable and mold-free while installed on a crawl space floor.
Once installed, it provides a soft, puncture-resistant 3/4" vapor barrier on all floor surfaces -- one that can be crawled on and accessed by service workers and homeowners under normal conditions.
TerraBlock™ is an inorganic, waterproof product. It will not soak up water, and does not support mold or mildew growth. Perfect!
More about our TerraBlock™ Crawl Space Floor Insulation
We Create Healthy Crawl Space Environments!
At Basement Systems, our international network of more than 300 dealers has the training, equipment, and experience needed to create a dry, energy-efficient, and healthier environment in your crawl space.
We want to bring you the building science that has successfully repaired hundreds of thousands of basements and crawl spaces worldwide! For a free crawl space estimate for a customized, warranted system for your home, contact us by phone or e-mail today!
We proudly serve throughout Canada and the United States. We look forward to helping you!
Looking for a price? Get a no cost, no obligation free estimate.