Crawl Spaces
Many homes built on crawl space foundations suffer from poor moisture management. Symptoms are most often noticed in humid spring and summer seasons but can occur at any time of the year. Below is information on how to close your crawl space and the benefits that come from making this change.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a closed crawl space?
- How do I start the process of closing my crawl space?
- What kind of replacement crawl space vents are the best?
- How do I fix a musty odor?
- Is radon a concern in homes with crawl spaces?
- Will closing my crawl space vents keep my floors warmer?
- What can I do to address condensation on ducts and exposed electric wires in my crawl space?
Additional Resources
Closed Crawl Spaces: A Quick Reference for the Southeast
The quick reference guide summarizes the design elements and installation steps that are discussed in the full guide below. The quick reference also includes two example designs from the guide.
Closed Crawl Spaces: An Introduction Guide for the Southeast
The full closed crawl space guide provides design and implementation recommendations, sample designs, a construction sequence, an overview of North Carolina residential code requirements, recommendations for improving existing wall-vented crawl spaces, and and answers to frequently asked questions about mold in crawlspace.
Articles
- Problem-Free Closed Crawls – Energy and Environmental Building Alliance (EEBA)
- Closing the Crawl – Builder Magazine
- Closed Crawl Spaces Do Double Duty – Home Energy
- Crawl Space Mold Liability or Business Opportunity – Pest Control Technology
- To Vent or Not To Vent – Professional Remodeler
Technical Reports
- Vented Crawl Spaces as Mold Amplification and Delivery Systems? – American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.
- Assessing Allergens and Asthma Triggers in the Home Environment: A Study of Southeastern United States. – Duke University
- Crawl Space Characterization: Characterizing Crawl Spaces as Sources of Mold in the Home Environment. – Advanced Energy
- Long-Term Temperature and Relative Humidity: Characterizing Crawl Spaces as Sources of Mold in the Home Environment. – Advanced Energy
- Moisture Solution Becomes Efficiency Bonanza in Southeastern United States. – Advanced Energy
- Moisture Performance of Closed Crawl Spaces and Their Impact on Home Cooling and Heating Energy in the Southeastern United States. – Advanced Energy
- A Field Study Comparison of the Energy and Moisture Performance Characteristics of Ventilated Versus Sealed Crawl Spaces in the South – Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Additional Advanced Energy at Home Topics
Moisture
We are surrounded by moisture. There’s rain from above, water from below, humidity, household moisture generated from breathing, plants and cooking, and more. However, we do have control over a few key areas: where and how our homes experience moisture from the outside and the inside, and the choice of materials used at these locations.
Incorporating New Technologies
We continue to add new technologies to our homes to make our lives more efficient, convenient, affordable, customizable and environmentally friendly. Sometimes these devices and appliances can be overwhelming, but there are a number of ways we can make them work for us and meet our goals and needs.
Indoor Air Quality
The buildings we live in affect our health in many ways. In recent years, research has linked poor health impacts to characteristics of the building environment, including the presence of moisture, airborne volatile organic compounds, allergens, particulates, radon and combustion byproducts such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. Increasingly, policymakers like the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy have sought to improve home conditions to enhance the health of the constituencies they serve.
Saving Money Through Energy Efficiency
We all use energy in one form or another in our homes, whether electricity, gas, kerosene or even oil. Ideally, this energy usage is not an expensive shock when each month’s utility bill arrives. However, keeping track of the growing number of devices that plug in, on top of our existing appliances and electronics, can be dizzying. Fortunately, there are a number of ways – both simple and more advanced – that we can work to lower our utility bills and improve our energy efficiency.