Advanced Energy’s closed crawl space research has sparked contractors across the country to close more crawl spaces.

Breakthrough research in North Carolina, and pilot studies in Flagstaff, Arizona and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, have proven closed crawl spaces are more energy efficient than vented ones.

But Cyrus Dastur, Advanced Energy’s building science associate working on the closed crawl space research, says the biggest mistake contractors are making is not insulating the crawl space. “They don’t understand they need to insulate the crawl space to make it energy efficient,” he says. “Not just close it with plastic.”

Emecole understands this. That is why we are developing a new insulating blanket that is a vapor barrier, insulation and radiant heat shield. The EmeShield Pro Plus has closed cell foam between a plastic side and an aluminum side. The aluminum side reflects the heat transfer back in the house.

Additional Reading: Closed crawl space research studies

Today is Earth Day – a day designated to remind ourselves that our planet is a precious place, and that it is our responsibility to keep it precious, if not for us, than for future generations.

Envirolink.org has posted an article on the history of Earth Day, written by the late Sen. Gaylord Nelson. It’s an interesting read.

From all of us at Emecole, Inc., we wish you a happy Earth Day!

When the water level gets to a certain point, a float switch or equivalent is what triggers the sump pump to turn on and start pumping and when to subsequently stop pumping.

In a mechanical failure, the float switch is the culprit. But not all float switches are created equal.

Here are the four main kinds of switches:

• Tethered Float Switch: This kind of float switch comes on a piece of wire with the float on the end. As the water level rises, the little ball floats to the top and triggers a limit switch on the pump. The common problem with this type of float is that it gets caught on things in the pit (such as the cords)
• Pressure sensitive diaphragm switches are not really “floats” at all but work with the same concept. These types of pumps are completely under water and the rubber diaphragm senses when the water pressure increases and turns on the pump. With this design, the rubber diaphragm can harden and gets brittle over time, which causes the switch to not activate the pump when needed.
• Electronic switches don’t have an actual float either. This switch has electronic sensors triggered by rising water. Although this is an exciting idea it is still not proven.
• Vertical action float switches run on a rust-proof rod and the float rides on this vertical rod. When the float gets to the top, it activates the limit switch. This float switch is clamped to the discharge line (the PVC pipe that runs the water out of the house). This is a simple idea that has proven, for us, to be the most reliable option. This type of switch (which is remote from the pump) allows the pump to run longer and discharge more gallons/cycle, allowing the switch to run less often and thus last longer when compared with switches attached directly to the pump body.

Remember, it isn’t if the pump will fail, it is when (ie. because of switch failure, or that the pump motor fails to function, or the outside power shuts down) No matter what kind of pump you choose, it is important to have a reliable backup pump system to kick on when your pump malfunctions and allows the basement to flood.