Debunking Crawl Space Myths: The Truth About Vent Management and Insulation

Should you keep your crawl space vents open in the summer and closed in the winter? Join Michael Church from Crawl Space Ninja as he debunks this widespread advice and offers expert insights on managing your crawl space vents in different climate conditions. You'll learn why sealing crawl space vents in the winter might not be enough to prevent cold drafts and frozen pipes, and why proper insulation and heating are essential. Michael also shares practical tips on insulating crawl space walls and using heated tape on exposed pipes to keep your home warm and energy-efficient during the colder months.

Summer brings its own set of challenges, as hot, humid air entering through open crawl space vents can lead to mold growth and structural damage. Michael explains how encapsulating your crawl space can control humidity and maintain a stable, conditioned environment year-round. Discover the benefits of using a vapor barrier, insulation, and a dehumidifier to transform your crawl space into a well-insulated, energy-efficient part of your home. Whether you're dealing with a vented or encapsulated crawl space, Michael's expertise will guide you in creating a healthier, more comfortable living environment.

Transcript

Speaker 0: 0:00

Hey, michael Church, crawl Space Ninja. We are continuing our Crawl Space Misconception series Today we're going to talk about now. We get this question a lot should I open my vents in the summer and close them in the winter? So what should you be doing? All right? So we get this question a lot. If you have a vented or open crawl space, then you want to know, because people have told you this all over the country for many years you should seal the vents in the winter, close them in the winter because the cold air is trying to get in, and you should open them in the summer to allow the crawl space to ventilate and dry out, right? So one thing I want to talk to you about is sealing them in the winter, all right. So that's a great idea to keep pipes from freezing and different things like that. But keep in mind that if your crawl space isn't well insulated or insulated properly, depending on what part of the country you're in yeah, you may keep that cold draft from coming in, and if you've got a plumbing pipe right there next to that vent, it would be a great idea to at least seal that vent to keep the exposure to that plumbing pipe low so that it doesn't get cold and freeze, but the crawl space can get cold even with the vents sealed without some form of proper insulation and a heat source. Remember, it doesn't matter how well your home is insulated, without the HVAC system it'll never be warm in the winter and it'll never be cool in the summer. So, that being said, you might want to seal the vents in the winter if your crawl space is open. I'm talking about an open, vented crawl space. If it's encapsulated, they're sealed year round. So if it's sealed in the winter, you may also want to invest in perhaps a heated tape for those pipes that are especially exposed to cold weather.

Speaker 0: 1:46

The other thing is if your HVAC system is down there. Some of us have a split system and part of it may be in the crawl space or up in the attic or wherever they put it, and then part of it's outside. If your HVAC system is down there, you turn on the heat. It's leaking the air, right. Even if your ducts are going in the crawl space, it's leaking the air, right. Even if your ducts are going in the crawl space, it's leaking warm air. Most of the time, most HVAC duct work leaks about 25% and it's allowing heat to leak into the crawl space. Well, again, if your crawl space is not properly insulated, if you're just insulating the floor joists, then that cold foundation wall is going to rob all that heat out of the crawl space, even with heat leaking into that crawl space. So one of the things you may want to think about is perhaps insulating the walls to hold in that heat.

Speaker 0: 2:35

If you're going to seal the vents, if you're not going to seal the vents, it doesn't do any good either way. So just focus on those pipes that are cold. Put some subfloor insulation up there. If you're worried about it being cold in the winter with an open crawl space, okay, hopefully that makes sense. In the summertime we got a different situation.

Speaker 0: 2:54

When you open the vents in the summertime in Knoxville, tennessee, or in North Carolina, or even in Delaware and other parts of the country, you got hot, humid air that's coming into that crawl space.

Speaker 0: 3:06

That hot, humid air gets absorbed by the insulation, gets absorbed by the wood, creates a potential mold problem and also, if your HVAC is down there, then you got cold air ducts being hit by hot, humid air and it explodes with moisture and then you've got potential structural problems in the future and all that sort of thing if you leave them open in the summer.

Speaker 0: 3:29

So for us, the best advice I have for you is to encapsulate your crawl space. If you encapsulate your crawl space the way that we talk about, where you put the vapor barrier, the insulation on the walls and on the floor, properly overlap and tape, install a dehumidifier while also properly ventilating, that's gonna control humidity, it's gonna keep your crawl space warm in the winter and cool in the summer and it'll create a conditioned environment. Last thing I'll say is what if you had your AC on in your house and you went around and opened the windows? Right, that air conditioning is going to be fighting against that hot, humid air that's coming in, and the hot, humid air is probably going to win, or your AC will never turn off. Either way, it's not a good scenario. Michael Church, hope you make this a happy and blessed day and we'll see you later.