crawlspace conditioning
stevieraycharles
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
HELP ! I am dealing with a home which has a 6″ concrete slab floor resting on piers approx. 24″ off ground. Approx 2800′ sq. Ultra efficient gas furnace w/ 3 returns, all ductwork (and unit) located in attic. PROBLEM: Floors remain frigid. I cannot install radiant heat fabric, as tilework and hardwoods are done. I cannot insulate underside of slab easily, as piers are 4′ o.c., and numerous plumbing and electrical drops. Radiant heat applied to underside of slab would be torturous work. I am thinking about closing foundation vents, ( most of which are 40 yrs. old and broken) and trying to heat crawlspace forced air somehow. HELP. Humbly…cpmulv
Replies
Where are you located?
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"I may have said the same thing before... But my explanation, I am sure, will always be different." Oscar Wilde
Thanks for the reply. The home is in Greenville SC, foothills of the Blue Ridge.
The home is VERY EASY to a/c in summer.
I'm not familiar with that style of construction or climate, so I don't have any practical experience, but a conditioned crawl might well be the way to go. (They work well in my climate in NW Ohio to control moisture levels in crawls, but I have no idea if that would help keep a slab warm.)
On one hand it would seem like wasted heat; on the other, if the slab is warmer, your feet are warmer and you will feel warmer and maybe keep the thermostat lower.
One place to look: the Building Science Corporation website http://www.buildingscience.com/
You might try asking local home inspectors, they see hundreds of houses a year and often see what works and doesn't work (although heating systemn efficiency isn't a visual inspection kind of thing.)________________________________________________
"I may have said the same thing before... But my explanation, I am sure, will always be different." Oscar Wilde