[shdw551]

I have a 800sq/ft brick ranch home with electric heat and no central air.I have vents on each side of my house which are just under main floor. do these need to be open all the time just in summer, cool days or what. It is very humid in my house all 4 seasons even with electric heat. i have a new roof and windows if that matters. any info would be appreciated.

 

[Just Bill]

I assume this is only a crawl space?? Is it dry under there?? Is the floor insulated?? Not sure where you are, but normally they should open in warmer weather, closed in clod weather. There are vent grilles available that open/close with temp changes. Lowes, among others, have them, not expensive. May be something to consider. If the crawl space is damp, that will definitely add to the house moisture problems. That can be corrected or the problem reduced by covering the dirt with 6 mil plastic.

And that attic should have ventilation. Do you have soffit/ridge vents?? That is the best system. Gable vents and/or whirley bird vents would be next. I prefer passive ventilation as opposed to fans that consume power.

 

[Ron6519]

How humid is it? "Very" is subjective. Do you have humidistats in the house or you going by, "feel".
Ron

 

[shdw551]

my house is a single story brick ranch with a full finished basement with a poured foundation.i have a digital temp and humidistat and it can reach 65% humidity at times and is rarely below 50 unless it is extremely dry and all windows are open then it may drop to 35. i have a new roof with sffit vents 2 whirlybirds and a natural vent.i do not have a crawlspace. i live in sw ontario and experience all 4 seasons with snow. even in winter with electric heat it is still humid?

 

[Just Bill]

Certainly sounds like the attic has good ventilation.

Not sure I understand the vents 'just under the main floor'. Are they vents or basement windows?? Is the basement damp?? Is the humidity higher in the house the the surrounding area. If that is the normal climate, not much you can do. If not, the only place I can see the moisture coming from would be the basement.

If the basement is damp/wet, 90% of those problems can can solved or greatly reduced by having properly working gutters/downspouts that gets the rain at least 6' away from the foundation, and proper grading around the foundation that does the same thing.

 

[shdw551]

I have 2 basement windows in front and the vents on the sides of house are metal which u can open and close(similar to square soffit vents but u can close).Where they r located is just below the main floor between the joist and my suspended cieling in the basement. If i plug them up will i have ventilation issues since i dont have forced air funace?