Crawl Space Vents: To Close or Not To Close

When homeowners call us, one of the main questions we hear is whether to open or close the vents in their crawl space. Our answer can be confusing, "It depends"! Some homeowners open their vents in the summer and close them for the winter. Some are vents open year-round, some are vents closed. A document from the Department of Energy states "vented crawl spaces are wrong...close the vents!" However, this flies in the face of the building code! What is a homeowner to do? 

In an older home, if your crawl space is not encapsulated, we recommend the vents stay open. When you close the vents in an area that is already damp, you are hastening the damage water and water vapor can do. Bring on the mold and the rot due to the lack of air flow! If you encapsulate your crawl space, we will seal the vents to prevent outside air from entering the crawl space. Encapsulating the crawl space with CleanSpace isolates your home from the earth, no moisture can get through! This means the crawl space, and your entire home stays dry. Closing the vents on an encapsulated crawl space stops unnecessary air flow that can run up your heating and cooling costs, have a negative impact on the structural support of your home, and cause problems with the air quality in your home. 

What if you have a furnace or water heater in your crawl space that requires air for combustion? These appliances need to be able to pull air to work properly, and our Design Specialists can help you with a plan to make sure your appliances are properly vented, without allowing outside air in. 

The general rule for crawl space vents is don't close the vents without sealing the earth, but don't seal the earth without closing the vents. If you have combustion appliances in your crawl space, don't depressurize the space, call a professional like CrawlSpace Solutions of Arkansas!