A crawl space area needs to be sealed in order to have your home be as energy efficient as it can be. This process, also called encapsulating, will not only help with the insulation of your home, but it will also prevent mold and rot effecting the *crawl space, foundation* of your home.
Crawl spaces should be insulated
The first step to encapsulating your home is insulation. Rigid foam boards are the best option for insulating crawl spaces due to the fact that they don’t absorb moisture, limiting the chances of mold. Rigid foam insulation is securely installed on the walls of the crawl space, which ensures that they won’t be shifted around. These two factors insure that the R-value of the insulation will not deplete over time. Fiberglass batts were commonly used in homes for a long time, but the batts do tend to absorb moisture and shift around, which makes it a less effective option than rigid foam insulation boards.
Drainage matting
In your home, more air leaves your house through the walls then it does the crawl space floors. This means wall insulation is a more effective option than crawl space floor insulation. This does not mean that insulating your crawl space should be neglected. There are some simple things that you can do to help the efficiency of your home, even if this doesn’t include a whole new insulation revamp. If your crawl space has a dirt floor then not only insulation a problem, but also moisture. Putting a plastic drainage mat can help alleviate some of both problems.
