The duct system is your home’s network for interior comfort and healthy air quality. It conveys filtered, conditioned air to and from your living spaces in a carefully calculated volume and velocity to maintain proper air balance in each room. When good duct design goes bad, the consequences can be significant. Wasted energy, higher utility costs, lower comfort levels and even contaminated air quality may result. In most homes, a large portion of the total span of the duct system is inaccessible to the average homeowner and requires an HVAC professional with the tools and expertise to conduct a thorough inspection. However, a visual check for the most obvious signs and symptoms is doable for most residents. Here are some things to look out for:
Substitute ductwork. Instead of installing proper enclosed metal ductwork, residential construction in the past sometimes utilized the voids between studs inside walls or the channels between ceiling or floor joists as ducts. This cost-cutting method leaks air, wastes energy and may draw unhealthy air into the system.
Uninsulated ductwork in unconditioned zones. Attic temperatures can exceed 150 degrees in summer and crawl spaces get cold in winter. Thermal loss from uninsulated ducts in zones of acute temperatures can exceed 20 percent. In a climate like that of Northeast Ohio, ducts that run through unconditioned areas should be insulated to a minimum level of R-6 up to R-11.
Damaged or disconnected duct segments. Flexible ductwork may be torn or crushed, particularly in storage areas like attics where heavy objects are moved around. Segments of hard ductwork may not have been permanently secured with screws during construction and may work loose over time.
Dead-end ductwork. Branches of your duct system that are capped off — or, worse, wide open—and do not lead to any room may be the result of mistakes during construction or retrofits. A room that never cools or heats properly may have a dead-end duct somewhere in the wall or ceiling.
For more than 34 years, Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning has offered high-quality installations and expert repairs to Lorain, Erie and Cuyahoga county homeowners. Contact us for more information about a professional duct inspection.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about duct systems and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area