Home Energy Audit in Milton, DE

Thursday, December 14th, 2023 by Mike Sites

Challenge

You'd think they have it all covered> You paid for an encapsulated crawl space, and adequate insulation in critical area. You take for granted all was done properly. And then one day you decide to get an energy audit. And that's when your dander might get up. The auditor finds all kinds of things that we're done improperly, or damage left behind by careless workers. And then the auditor discovers a serious health and safety issue - MOLD IS GROWING IN THE ENCAPSULATED CRAWL SPACE. You think, "I thought that was why they encapsulated the crawl space". And then you learn the real truth: Encapsulation is only ½ of the equation, the other half is a dehumidifier. Why didn't they put a dehumidifier in my crawlspace. Nobody told me I needed one. Until the State of Delaware legislature adds himidity control to the list of code items for new homes, moldy crawl spaces are going to become epidemic in the State of Delaware, and along with it an increased load on the health care system as elderly people, who are more sensitive to mold and toxins, begin showing up in the urgent care units with respiratory problems.

This is happening in so many new Delaware new home developments, especially southern Delaware where housing developments are springing up like mad. These developers don't care about your health - they care about making money. So they do what "code" requires and no more. And sadly, Delaware legislators have not yet realized the necessity for dehumidifiers in Mid Atlantic climate crawlspaces. And we hear "Everyone moves to Delaware and develops allergies". Maybe this is a big part of the problem.
This duplex home in Milton, DE was built just 4 years ago in 2019. The crawlspace was encapsulated, but the job was not of good quality. Liner should go farther up the insulation. It should be held up by more than a piece of tape here and there. It shouldn't be torn or ripped. Lawson Home Services energy auditor Ryan Wurzel discovered all sorts of other problems in this new home, like poorly insulated kneewall doors and attic hatches. Just look at the infrared camera pictures and see for yourself. The cold spots show up as blue and the warm spots as orange.
Have a look at the pictures to see some other problems Ryan discovered during the audit.

Solution

The first part of a solution is to discover you have a problem. An energy auditor is trained to find them.
Afterwards the homeowner will receive a detailed report that will show the most cost effective measures to increase home comfort, improve the value and longevity of the home, and improve indoor air quality, and lower utility bills. As for the mold growing all over this poor homeowners crawlspace, there is a relatively inexpensive solution for a damp crawl space. Lawson Homes Services can install a Sedona SaniDry™ crawlspace dehumidifier in your crawlspace. As for the existing mold, a product known as Mold-X Neutralizer, an EPA registered 3-in-1 cleaner designed to kill, clean, and inhibit the growth of mold.

Mold growing in wet spot moving across floor joist. Eventually, if left intreated, this flor joist will begin rotting away.

More mold, lots of it, growing all over the underneath side of the subfloor and on other supporting floor structures. That would have eventually rotted out. $$$ repairs

Looks like a well insulated door. Lets see what the infrared Camera shows.

Same door closed, as it appears to the naked eye.

The Infrared camera "sees" hot and cold spots - it shows us where the home is leaking energy. The problem here can be seen in the picture of the door - the insulation doesn't go all the way to the edges as it should. and it is only loosely attached to the door and is pulling away at the edges exposing the door to the extreme outdoor temperatures in the adjacent kneewall attic space.

It doesn't help the humidity levels in the crawl space when the condensate line from the HVAC, that is supposed to drain into the sump, goes onto the lid and runs off onto the crawlspace liner where it evaporates into the air, raising the humidity levels inside the crawl space and promoting the growth of mold.

How long do you think that liner will stay stuck to the insulation on the wall. This is a shoddy way to attach the liner to the crawl space wall.

Careless worker, or just shoddy work. This tape is torn open, allowing air from the HVAC to escape into the crawl space. Is that where you want your heating and cooling to go?

Nothing under the crawlspace liner, not even gravel. That's a cheap job of "encapsulating" the crawl space. Not only that but this entire section had been ripped loose. Who knows how or when. But it allows all that moisture to evaporate into the crawl space air. It's no wonder there was mold growing everywhere in the crawl space of this new home.

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Home Energy Audit in Milton, DE

Challenge

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