Home Energy Audit in Millsboro, DE
Challenge
Many American homes in the past, like this beautiful new home in Millsboro, DE, were built with vented dirt crawlspaces. But building scientists all now agree, this is a huge mistake. Numerous problems were found in this home by Lawson Home Services' BPI certified energy auditor, Ryan Wurzel and salesperson, Michael Medianick.
- HVAC equipment and ductwork, being situated in the ventilated crawlspace, is exposed to outdoor temperatures.
- Ventilated crawlspace construction requires the insulation to be installed "upside-down", using one method or another to push the insulation up against the underside of the floor deck above and hold it there. The insulation quickly becomes soggy, and begins to falling away, leaving the floors surfaces of the first story directly exposed to the harsh outdoor humidity and temperatures of the ventilated crawlspace.
- We can see in the pictures the builder installed a plastic cover over the dirt floor of the crawlspace. But we can also see that it is entirely ineffective. Numerous puddles of water, likely condensation from the exposed HVAC ductwork directly above, are covering much of the surface of the plastic cover. Over the years the moisture of the humid air inside the crawlspace is absorbed into the wooden floor structure. Eventually microbial growth begins leading to floor joist rotting - a very expensive repair.
- The microbial growth of the petri dish conditions inside the humid crawlspace gets sucked up into the living space above, causing foul odors and unhealthy indoor air quality.
Solution
Fortunately, Dr. Energy Saver has a cost effective solution: completely encapsulate the crawlspace and seal the ductwork. Crawlspace encapsulation kills many birds with one stone. First and most important, the crawlspace, formerly subjected to a wide range of temperature and humidity throughout the year, is converted into a tempered environment - the air inside now very close to the same temperature and humidity as the air inside the living spaces above. Second, it isolates the floor structures above the crawlspace from ground water seeping into the dirt floor. Now the crawlspace air can be dehumidified (this may require the addition of a Sedona SaniDry™ dehumidifier) eliminating the potential for unhealthy microbial growth that causes unhealthy indoor air quality and the rotting of wooden structures inside the crawlspace. And finally, with the insulation barrier now moved to the walls of the crawlspace, the need for "upside-down" hanging insulation is eliminated, leaving the floors nice and toasty, since the crawlspace temperatures match those of the living spaces above.
