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  1. #1
    Ron Bishop's Avatar
    Ron Bishop Guest

    Default Crawlspace heated by furnace. No sub ventilation. No supply ducts. Floor registers.

    This is the second time I have seen this...house was built on a concrete block foundation with no sub ventilation. Vapor barrier covers entire crawlspace and perimeter walls. Downdraft furnace blows air directly in to and heats crawlspace using no supply ducts. A small amount of warm air rises up in to living spaces through floor registers. Has anyone ever seen anything like this before? I can't imagine this being an acceptable practice. thks.

    OREP Insurance

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    New Mexico
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    1,352

    Default Re: Crawlspace heated by furnace. No sub ventilation. No supply ducts. Floor register

    Google some of Joe Lstiburek's work on conditioned crawl spaces. He covers it in great detail.

    Jim Robinson
    New Mexico, USA

  3. #3
    Ron Bishop's Avatar
    Ron Bishop Guest

    Default Re: Crawlspace heated by furnace. No sub ventilation. No supply ducts. Floor register

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Robinson View Post
    Google some of Joe Lstiburek's work on conditioned crawl spaces. He covers it in great detail.
    very interesting...thank you very much!


  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Southern Vancouver Island
    Posts
    4,607

    Default Re: Crawlspace heated by furnace. No sub ventilation. No supply ducts. Floor register

    I saw that one time in a house with an electric furnace. I told my client the duct work was missing.
    The crawlspace walls were not insulated, but it was nice and cozy down there.

    John Kogel, RHI, BC HI Lic #47455
    www.allsafehome.ca

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Nampa, Idaho
    Posts
    601

    Default Re: Crawlspace heated by furnace. No sub ventilation. No supply ducts. Floor register

    That type of system is known as "crawlspace plenum system". It's funny, my very first home was built this way. Had a cheap electric furnace that blew directly into crawlspace, no insulation at perimeter of foundation. Needless to say it was not very efficient.

    The potential concerns with this type of system are radon gas entering living space from crawlspace. Poor indoor air quality. High energy costs.

    A good system will have insulation installed at perimeter of foundation and joist band. Vapor barrier installed very well, covering all exposed soil. Disposable register vent filters at each vent.

    With the right equipment and design these types of systems can perform very well and be efficient. I have seen geothermal heat pump systems installed this way and work very well.


  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Oregon
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    2,365

    Default Re: Crawlspace heated by furnace. No sub ventilation. No supply ducts. Floor register

    Quote Originally Posted by Trent Tarter View Post
    That type of system is known as "crawlspace plenum system". It's funny, my very first home was built this way. Had a cheap electric furnace that blew directly into crawlspace, no insulation at perimeter of foundation. Needless to say it was not very efficient.

    The potential concerns with this type of system are radon gas entering living space from crawlspace. Poor indoor air quality. High energy costs.

    A good system will have insulation installed at perimeter of foundation and joist band. Vapor barrier installed very well, covering all exposed soil. Disposable register vent filters at each vent.

    With the right equipment and design these types of systems can perform very well and be efficient. I have seen geothermal heat pump systems installed this way and work very well.
    We probably see about equal amounts of these being in similar states (Oregon/Washington). I probably see on every year or two. Most I've come across has pea gravel on the floor and no vapor barrier. I saw one once that had a concrete floor and only about 6" of clearance so there was no getting in.... except for the rats and mice. What a disaster.... they buyer walked on the house which was otherwise a really nice place. I'd liken it to building a car with only a small 2" opening around the edges of the hood. You could look inside and see a couple things but there's no fixing anything.

    Plenum houses with reasonably sized crawl spaces are not a terrible design but I'd probably opt against it if it were my place. With most I see it wouldn't be that hard to just install some ductwork & a vapor barrier and ventilate the crawl space.


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