Are You Looking to Save on Energy Costs?
Imagine taking a stroll through the park and you hear a crowd of people cheering across the lawn with a guest speaker in the center, on a small wooden stage. As you approach the group, you hear the lines," there is a secret to lowering your energy costs!". Would you stay to find out more about this secret? If the answer is yes, then you are in luck! The secret lies behind keeping your home healthy, not just your home, but your basement or crawl space.
Before revealing the secret just yet, let's dive into how much energy an average person paid in 2017 compared to 2022.
In 2017, an average person's usage of 100 units of heat during the winter would have paid about $74.50 per month (Webb, 2022). In 2022, the average person has to pay about $136.29 (Webb, 2022). Since this is on average, many homeowners are most likely paying more for their energy bills. Crawl spaces and basements can play a huge factor in how much energy you are saving.
If you were to visit your crawl space right now, would you see dirt floors throughout the space? A home with a dirt crawl space costs more to heat and cool because it contains damp air. Damp air uses more energy to heat and cool, which in return, costs more money. Damp air puts more of a hidden load on the HVAC system. Once the humidity reaches 30% in the space, the latent load is compromised.
*This is an example of a dirt floor in a crawl space. A 6 mil. liner does not protect the home's energy costs*
A secret to saving money on energy costs is to get rid of the humidity. Whether humidity exists in your crawl space or basement, it is costing you more money to heat and cool your space. The first step in controlling the environment is to seal off any openings from the outside air. If you have a crawl space with a 6 mil. liner on the floor, the best solution is replacing it with CleanSpace. CleanSpace is a 20 mil. liner that can be fitted in your crawl space to completely seal off your home from the earth. As an added benefit, CleanSpace has an antimicrobial additive manufactured into the material, which prevents mold growth on the liner. This bright white liner is fastened to not only the ground but the upper parts of the walls, to stop water vapor and allow drainage to the sump pump. To master the humidity, the SaniDry Sedona can be installed to take up to 100 pints of water per day out of your crawl space air, while using the same energy as a 40-pint dehumidifier. If you want to take incremental steps to save as much energy as possible, foam insulation boards, such as the SilverGlo can be added to the sides of the crawl space. The last step is to have a system that disposes of any water entering the crawl space that would disrupt the environment. For a crawl space, the SmartSump pump is a great option to pump out the water in the crawl space automatically.
*CleanSpace seals off any outside air in a crawl space*
A similar procedure is made to banish humidity in a basement. Any outside air is sealed away, but if water is leaking into the basement, CleanSpace is laid across the walls or only the bottom halves of it. A small trench is made in the ground beside the walls for the WaterGuard system to be put in. The WaterGuard system will bring any water entering in, to the SuperSump or TripleSump pump. A basement requires bigger sump pumps than a crawl space. The SaniDry Sedona works in basements to create a dry air flow.
Having an achievable system for getting rid of humidity will save you around 15% to 20% on costs.
Now that the secret is out, what will you do with the knowledge you have gained?
References
Webb, J. (2022, July 13). Courier and Press. It's Getting Expensive to Live in Evansville. Here's How Much Costs Are Going Up.