Are Your Air Ducts Wasting Energy?
Your home’s air duct system is a network of metal tunnels in the walls, floors and ceilings that carry conditioned air from the furnace and central air conditioner to each room. If the ducts are poorly sealed, or have holes and gaps, your energy bills are likely higher than they should be. Ducts that leak heated air into unheated spaces such as crawl spaces, basements or attics can add hundreds of dollars a year to your heating and cooling bills.
Sealing and insulating the ducts reduces that waste, and insulating ducts in unconditioned spaces is usually very cost-effective.
Air Duct Sealing
Sealing matters most where the ducts run through an unconditioned space such as an attic or crawlspace. Leaking supply ducts push heated or cooled air into places nobody lives in. Leaking return ducts do the reverse, drawing unconditioned air back into the system through unsealed joints.
Minor repairs are within reach of a homeowner. Sealing and insulating ducts in unconditioned spaces, and any modification or addition to existing ductwork, is work for an HVAC professional. While you are at it, check that furniture, rugs and drapes are not blocking your registers.
How to Seal Your Ducts
- Inspect the ducts for leaks. Look first for sections that should be joined but have separated, then for holes.
- Duct tape looks like the obvious material, but duct mastic is the better choice for seams and joints. Mastic is more durable, though it should not be used to bridge gaps wider than a quarter inch. Larger gaps need mesh tape or a heat-approved tape first. Butyl tape and foil tape are both good choices.
- Sealing or insulating ducts in a basement makes that space colder, which raises the risk of frozen pipes. Make sure the basement walls are well insulated, or fit electric heating tape to the pipes.
- If the basement is finished, check that every room has both a supply and a return register.
Duct Work We Handle
Grand Lake Plumbing & Heating inspects, seals, insulates and repairs ductwork across Grand County. We do not offer duct cleaning, which is a separate specialist trade. If you are trying to work out whether your ducts need cleaning rather than sealing, our post on how often air ducts should be cleaned goes through the signs.
If the air itself is the concern rather than the ductwork, see our indoor air quality options.
Questions about your ductwork? Call Grand Lake Plumbing & Heating.
