Can a Humid Crawl Space Cause High Energy Bills?

Crawl space humidity should be given more thought because of how it impacts a home’s energy consumption. Due to the stack effect, most of the air circulating in your Duluth-Superior home comes from your crawl space. The stack effect is a term used to describe how air travels throughout your home. Hot air is always trying to travel towards colder temperature, so the warm air from the outside flows into your crawl space and then rises into your home. This affects how well your AC can cool your home, causing your energy bill to rise.

During the winter, the cool air that enters through your crawl space is much denser than hot air, so it pushes the warm air in your home to the upper portions of your house. Again, this affects how well the way your HVAC system can keep the temperature in your home comfortable. Because of the invading air from outside, your HVAC systems overwork themselves and consume more energy than they should.

The only way to stop this is to properly insulate your crawl space, and make sure that it’s fully waterproof. Waterproofing solutions like encapsulation will seal your crawl space and prevent water seepage, while insulation materials will prevent air from flowing in and out of the space. The kind of insulation you need for your crawl space should be reflective. Absorbent material will only deteriorate as it takes in all the moisture in the crawl space, so to improve the energy efficiency in your home, a crawl space repair expert will recommend AquaStop ExTremeBloc™ insulation.