The Takeaway:
1. Our Pick: Tjernlund V2D Crawl Space Ventilator
2. Runner-Up: Durablow MFB M2D
3. Without Humidistat: Lomanco Crawl Space Ventilator
You might wonder why crawl spaces get damp and humid and why you’d even need a crawl space ventilator with a humidistat or a crawl space dehumidifier to solve the problem.
The short answer is the seventies happened. The longer answer is that we began building homes with central AC systems in the seventies. This had the unintended side effect of changing the average humidity of the crawl spaces in our homes.
Before the seventies, the only thing you needed to worry about was “freshening up the air” in your home’s crawl spaces because the humidity level tended to be the same or very close to the same as the level in the rest of your house. The only thing you really had to worry about was the stale smell of a room or space with no significant airflow, but the advent of central air changed that.
So which is better for your home’s crawl spaces, a dehumidifier or a crawl space ventilator with a humidistat? The answer is it depends. Dehumidifiers are the way to go if you have a large crawl space and are most concerned about total system efficiency. A crawl space ventilator can work for you under the right circumstances.
With those two caveats in mind, let’s look at some good-quality ventilator fans to see if there’s one that’s right for you.
Our Pick: Tjernlund V2D Crawl Space Ventilator
This is a great ventilator and a cut above most of the ones you’ll find on the market today. High-quality construction means that it’s durable and will see years of service before it needs to be repaired or replaced. It’s one of only a few crawl space ventilators with a humidistat built in. That matters because the whole point of using one is to be able to control the humidity in the crawl space better.
If your ventilator fan doesn’t have a humidistat built-in, you’ll have to buy one as an additional or aftermarket bit of equipment, and why bother with that? For that reason, the Tjernlund is simply convenient. If you’ve got a smallish crawl space to control humidity in, this is an excellent choice and better than anything else you’ll find on the market today.
Runner-Up: Durablow MFB M2D
Stainless steel construction means that it’s a durable little machine too, though the company that makes it doesn’t have quite the reputation for excellence in customer service that Tjernlund does, so if there is a problem, the help you get may be spotty. On the other hand, if you live in an extremely humid environment, the stainless steel construction here will serve you very well. See the video below for a decibel level test for this crawl space ventilator.
Without Humidistat: Lomanco Crawl Space Ventilator
The above is really the top two contenders in this market space. Most everything else you’ll find, where crawl space ventilators are concerned, are machines like the Lomanco Crawl Space Ventilator.
The Lomanco is fairly typical of most ventilators on the market today, which is to say that it doesn’t come with a built-in humidistat. The reality is that not many do. The problem, of course, is that without this piece of equipment, what you’re buying is a very expensive fan. Sure, it’s a nice fan, but it just doesn’t give you the monitoring and control capabilities you need to solve the problem of excess humidity.
What Is The Best Crawl Space Ventilator with Humidistat 2024?
Whichever way you go, and whatever crawl space ventilator you choose, be sure to get one with a built-in humidistat. That’s the most crucial feature when considering purchasing, with everything else being a somewhat distant second.
There aren’t many crawl space ventilators with humidistats on the market, so both the Tjernlund Crawl Space Ventilator and the Durablow Crawl Space Ventilator have it cornered, but they are both excellent choices. Tjernlund’s excellent customer support reputation made us tip the balance for it to make it our top pick.
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