Misconception: Fans Lower Crawl Space Humidity
When I first began studying crawl spaces, the foundation vent fan was the #1 recommended way to lower humidity. Dehumidifiers were touted as too expensive and an unnecessary gimmick. Crawl space encapsulation contractors are still viewed by some as snake oil salespeople with only one goal: to take your money.
Just today we received a comment on our YouTube Channel saying exactly that.
Crawl Space Fans Don’t Lower Humidity
The truth is if I was only interested in money, I would sell everyone a crawl space vent fan and tell you it lowers humidity. In fact, I could sell way more fans than crawl space dehumidifiers just because of the price point. The only problem is fans do not lower humidity. They could actually raise humidity if your crawl space wood is damp or the makeup air is moist. Let me explain.
The Misconception of Using Fans to Control Humidity in Crawl Spaces
I went through water damage restoration school many years ago. They teach you to use high-velocity fans in order to dry a flooded home. The fans are designed to get the absorbed water out of the building material and into the air. Thus creating high humidity. They also teach you to have a dehumidifier installed in the middle of the fans to remove the high humidity from the air. If that is the case, why are crawl space companies telling you to install fans to remove humidity?
Foundation Vent Fans Move Air
The foundation vent fan’s job is to move air. Some crawl space vent fans have humidity sensors that apply power based on the level it is set, but that doesn’t mean it dries the air. The fan does not lower or raise the moisture in the air, it only moves it.
A high-velocity fan can pull moisture from wet wood, as mentioned above, but if the dehumidifier is not in place, the air can become so saturated that the humidity is reabsorbed by the building material. If fans did lower humidity, water restoration companies would never need a dehumidifier.
Why Install a Crawl Space Vent Fan?
The purpose for Crawl Space Ninja installing a foundation vent fan is to move odors and soil gases from the crawl space. Our fans are installed to continuously blow air out of the crawl space. Our crawl space encapsulations also have dehumidifiers to control humidity.
I know this blows some people’s minds but they work well together: the fan moving soil gases and the dehumidifier removing humidity. I wish I didn’t have to install a dehumidifier. I wish fans actually did lower humidity. It would certainly save everyone money, but that simply is not the case.
What Next?
Contact us if you need help fixing your crawl space or yard drainage by clicking here.
Do you need help with controlling humidity in your home and you live in Alabama, Georgia, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Kentucky? If so, please contact us to schedule your assessment. Also, let us know in the comments below if you’d like to suggest a future blog post.
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