Crawlspaces are an often overlooked part of a home and are known for being dark, damp, and musty. However, the health of your home’s crawlspace has a significant impact on your whole-home health and comfort. In fact, up to half of the breathing air found in your living spaces can originate in the crawlspace, meaning you could be inhaling all of that musty hair anywhere in your home.
At The Fifth Fuel, we’re crawlspace experts and know that including it in your home’s building envelope, in a process known as crawlspace encapsulation, can provide several benefits. As a part of the energy efficiency services we provide to Northern Virginia, DC, and Metro Maryland, crawlspace encapsulation can provide solutions to several home health and comfort issues—here are 5 examples:
- Promotes Healthy Indoor Air
Part of our encapsulation process includes air sealing gaps and cracks that can allow pests and pollutants into your home. By sealing your crawlspace from the outdoor elements, you’re closing off the point of entry for these contaminants and improving your home’s indoor air quality.
- Provides Moisture Control
When your crawlspace allows outside air to come inside, moisture and humidity also have a pathway to infiltrate your home. Moisture buildup often leads to the growth of mildew and mold, which can lead to damage to your home as well as pose a health risk to your family. We start every crawlspace project by checking for standing water or excess moisture. Then we install a strong vapor barrier to keep your home protected.
- Strengthens Your Home
Air movement and moisture buildup can all threaten your home’s structure, but crawlspace encapsulation can help protect your foundation from degrading. This will not only make your home more durable, but it can also increase your home’s value as well.
- Can Help Lower Your Energy Bills
We include insulation upgrades in our crawlspace encapsulation process, which can help your home regulate temperatures easier and lower your year-round energy bills. Insulating your crawlspace also takes stress off your HVAC system, which will make it operate more efficiently and even extend its lifespan.
- Improves Home Comfort
Crawlspace encapsulation includes air sealing, insulation, and vapor barrier installation, all of which can help improve your home comfort. This is especially true when you pair encapsulation with attic insulation because both the top and bottom of a home are where air leaks and energy loss are most present.
The Fifth Fuel: Your Home Health, Comfort, and Efficiency Experts
With over 30 years of experience, our team has helped thousands of families improve their homes. Our team has a strong understanding of building science principles and holds several certifications that equip us to find reliable and long lasting solutions to comfort, efficiency, and air quality problems in your home. We’re also a family owned and operated business that’s dedicated to helping our surrounding communities and stay up to date on the latest incentives available in our service area.
