Like Everything Else, Ductwork Ages — How to Tell if Your Network Needs Replacement

Does the aging ductwork in your Northeast Ohio home need replacement? Deteriorating or dirty ductwork can cost you substantially in energy losses. It can force your HVAC unit to work harder at cooling and heating your home. A waste of energy, this also reduces the lifespan of your heating and cooling equipment. Why not do a spot check of your ductwork to find out if you need to have the ductwork replaced?

• Figure out the age of your ductwork. Many ductwork systems installed at construction of the home were chosen for price and do not always last the lifetime of the house. Sometimes within 10 years the joints, seams and seals of the ducts could start to deteriorate.
• Do a spot check on all the exposed ductwork in your home. Look for sagging, cracking, and signs that the seams are starting to separate. Also look for streaks of dust leading out from any seals or seams. This will show you air leaks that may be present. Remove protective grills on vents and take a look inside. Look for any of the signs above to evaluate this area, too.
• Pay attention to the flow of air in the different rooms of your home. Aging ductwork can collapse or disconnect, causing airflow to slow down or stop to certain rooms. Check for temperature differences, too. This can be caused by air leaks or by deteriorated insulation in the ductwork leading to those rooms.
• The best way to evaluate the state of your aging ductwork is to get a professional HVAC contractor to inspect your duct system. A duct blower test can assess the structural integrity of your ductwork, and indicate where air is leaking.
• The contractor and/or you can proceed to seal any located duct leaks with mastic sealant and/or metal tape.

For more information on replacing aging ductwork and other HVAC services for your home, please contact us at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning, serving Lorain, Erie and Cuyahoga counties for 35 years.

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 ductwork maintenance and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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