Duct systems are used to distribute air conditioned throughout houses with forced-air heating and cooling systems. A typical house loses 20%- 40% of the air moving through its duct system due to leaks, punctures, and poor duct connections with the results being higher utility bills. A duct system that is well-designed in air condition, properly sealed and maintained can make your home more comfortable, energy efficient, and safer. A duct system that is well designed in heating and air condition, sealed, filtered and maintained can make your home more comfortable, energy efficient, and healthier.
Commonly Duct Problems are:
· Leaky duct connection
· Return leaks
· Furniture blocking register
· Leaks at furnace and filter slot and duct tape failure
· Fallen duct insulation
· Supply leaks
· Kinks in ductwork restricting airflow
Signs in detecting your ducts are performing poorly
- High utility bills in the summer and winter
- Difficulty heating and cooling rooms
- Stuffy, uncomfortable rooms
- Ductwork is located in an attic, crawlspace, or garage
- Tangled or kinked flex duct in your system
The Benefits of Proper Design of Duct Air Conditioning System
- Comfort: Sealed and insulated ducts help eliminate discomfort. Rooms are appropriately cooled in the summer and heating in the winter.
- Indoor Air Quality: Fumes from paints, cleaning supplies, pesticides, and adhesives along with outdoor chemicals, insulation fibers, and dust can enter your duct air condition system, triggering asthma and allergy problems. Improving your indoor air quality reduces the risk of pollutants entering your ductwork and circulating through your home.
- Safety: Gas appliances use ventilation systems to expel the release of combustion gases (like carbon monoxide) from the house. Poor ventilation in appliances such as furnaces, water heaters and clothes dryers along with leaky ductwork in your heating condition and cooling system causes “back-drafting”. These gases are drawn back into the living area, not to the outdoors.
- Save Money: Typical home can lose as much as 20%-40% of air conditioned. Increased efficiency, lower energy bills, and often paying for its self in energy savings are just one more reason to seal and insulate ducts. Furthermore, future replacement of new heating condition and cooling equipment, with a well-designed and sealed duct system may prepare you to downsize to a smaller, less costly system that provides better dehumidification
- Protect the Environment: Most power plants provide our homes with energy from the use of fossil fuels. Power plants add to smog, acid rain, and global warming. The less energy used in our homes, the less pollution generated. Sealing ducts reduces the amount of energy required to comfortably heating condition or cool your home can help reduce the amount of air pollution generated.
Guidelines for Improvements that you should make to your Duct System
- Use diagnostic equipment to measure and locate leaks in heating and air condition.
- Damaged, poorly connected or improperly sized ducts should be repaired or replaced.
- Tangled or crushed flex duct should be straightened out.
- Use tape, mastic, or an aerosol-based sealant at connection, joints and seams.
- Grills and registers should be tightly sealed.
- Attics and crawl spaces are unconditioned areas. Ducts there should be insulated with an R-value of 6 to 8.
- Any duct system improvements should include a new filter.
- An airflow test should be performed after sealing your ducts.
- A Combustion Safety Test will ensure gas or oil-burning appliances are not back drafting.
