Solving the problem of cold basements without insulation?
Controlling humidity and coldT
There are situations when
insulation of the basement walls is mandatory, if you bet on a
comfortable and healthy living space. If the sources of humidity
are structural and deeply connected with the foundations of your
house, insulation is the only way to solve moisture, odors and
coldness.
If there are lots of uncontrollable underground water around
your house, and your basement hasn't any insulation or has an
old and degraded one, then insulation and waterproofing is the
only solution.
But there are also many situations, where damp and cold basements
do not demand necessarily waterproofing and insulation.
Possible alternatives to basement insulation
A possible solution to many wet and cold basement involve extended gutters
and downspouts,
curtain drains, dry wells, grass
(instead of flower beds or trees), sloped roof, large
overhangs... (see Rain and Surface Water
Drainage).
Many situations can be solved through
this cheap measures and works.
They
are
crucial to control the accumulation of water around the
foundations.
Also important - in some cases - as "alternatives" to insulation
are:
- dehumidifiers (install a qualified dehumidifier)
- sealing the building air leaks
- controlling possible air leaks in ducts
-
removing basement moisture sources as dryers and other appliances...
- avoiding direct basement ventilation with warm, humid air (use ventilation through your heating and cooling system).
- resizing or replacing old energy inefficient heating and cooling systems
We develop most of these possible measures below.
Using high efficient heating and cooling system
A properly sized and energy efficient system is essential. If
the basement problems aren’t structural and if your home energy
system is properly sized and efficient, cold and humidity should
be under control either in the summer and winter.
Long-term savings tip:
consider installing an energy-efficient (geothermal)
heat pump
system; consider also using solar energy for producing
electricity (solar PV
systems)…
Using high efficient appliances
Unsealed combustion appliances (or even power vented appliances)
can cause airflow problems in the basement. Sealed combustion
appliances – furnaces, water heaters… - will significantly
reduce excessive airflow. Atmospherically vented appliances take cold air coming through the basement walls (or other sources)
and send it up, cooling the basement and the whole house.
In short: high efficient appliances may solve many problems in
wet and cold basements.
Dehumidifiers
Installing an Energy Star or other official qualified
dehumidifier may help to resolve problems in wet basements and
odors. See
Dehumidifiers and
Basics on Humiditity.
Dehumidifiers can be a good solution, but if
problems are structural they will only reduce the symptoms of
moisture.
Duct leaks and condensation problems
You can lose lots of energy if your basement ducts aren't
properly insulated.
Furnace duct leakages are especially at fault... Instead of
delivering the airflow to the rest of the house, leaky ducts
will unbalance the whole system, favoring the amount of cold air
leaking in from the outside and turning the basement colder.
Also put insulation
on water piping and cold water tanks. Excessive humidity tend to
condense on cold surfaces.
Attic bypasses and other leaks
Air tends to be drawn in at the basement and the lower parts of
the home, and to escape through any opening (attic leaks,
inefficient windows and doors…) in the upper parts of a
building, which turns the basement colder. In other words:
sealing the upper openings of the house has a positive impact in
basement temperatures.
Lighting the basement
Some basements are clearly unappealing because of insufficient
lighting. To avoid it, you should maximize natural lighting
(windows, tubular skylights…) and rethink the basement electrical
system.
See, for more details: Energy efficient
lighting ideas for basements
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How to solve Wet and Cold Basements
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