What am I missing (condition crawlspace)
mlawrence17
| Posted in General Discussion on
I’m considering building a SIP home in hot, humid South Carolina. I’m sold on the benefits of a conditioned crawlspace. But at the risk of sounding stupid……won’t conditioning my crawlspace mean much larger Heating/Cooling bills every month as well as having to get a larger HVAC unit? I mean, instead of heating/cooling a 2500 sq.ft. (single story) house, I would now be heating/cooling a 2500 sq.ft. crawlspace as well.
Replies
Are you placing a duct outlet downthere?
sobriety is the root cause of dementia.
I guess so. We were planning on having a couple of supply and return ducts conditioning the space. I understand why the conditioned crawlspace makes good sense. I'm just wondering if doing it is going to cost me an arm and a leg every month as well as require me to get a much larger HVAC unit.
Ask your HVAC contractor, specifically, what is the premium for conditioning it. If he says "duh," then he's the wrong HVAC guy.
I don't think you are looking to be as toasty down there in the winter, or as cool in summers, as upstairs. You are getting enough conditioned air down there, with changes, to minimize moisture. Since it is insulated, and all sealed up tight, it shouldn't take much.
Yeah, I think finding a good HVAC guy that understands what I'm doing is key. I just have a feeling that most guys I talk to are going to have that Deer caught in the headlights look.
I presume you have digested all applicable how-to info from the building science website? Fabulous resource.
First thing first, you do not heat and cool square feet. You heat and cool the volumne of cubic feet, so if I were to presume you have nine foot cielings and three foot crawlspace, you are only conditioning a third again as much CF of space.
In the crawl, you are likely to have moisture too. wrm air will carry more moisture than cool air. Moisture and heat will encourage mold to grow. unless you plan a research facility studying mold spores or a mushroom farm, you should condider this as an investment in adding to the life of the structure and the health of the inhabitants. But still, do use a VB on the ground to decrease the amt of moisture the system has to dela with
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
Don't know if you have a community college system in South Carolina like we do in North Carolina, but if you do, I would suggest that you contact an instructor at your local community college teaching HVAC. I took a residential HVAC design course at my local college and found the instructor to be very knowledgable - no deer in the head lights. These guys often have their own businesses on the side, and have a very thorough understanding of their craft.