Sealing Ducts to save money on cooling and heating costs.
In houses with forced-air heating and cooling systems, ducts are used to distribute conditioned air throughout the house. In a typical house, however, about 20 percent* of the air that moves through the duct system is lost due to leaks, holes, and poorly connected ducts. The result is higher utility bills and difficulty keeping the house comfortable, no matter how the thermostat is set.
How do you know that your home has poorly performing ducts?
you have high summer and winter utility bills;
you have rooms that are difficult to heat and cool;
you have stuffy rooms that never seem to feel comfortable;
your ducts are located in an attic, crawlspace, or the garage;
you find tangled or kinked flexible ducts in your system.
Benefits ofDuct Sealing
A duct system that is properly sealed can make your home more comfortable, energy efficient, and safer.
Because some ducts are concealed in walls and between floors, repairing them can be difficult. However, exposed ducts in attics, basements, crawlspaces, and garages can be repaired by sealing the leaks with duct sealant (also called duct mastic) and with Foil tape Not Duct tape.
Comfort
Sealing ducts can help with common comfort problems, such as rooms that are too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter.
Indoor Air Quality
Fumes from household and garden chemicals, insulation particles, and dust can enter your duct system, aggravating asthma and allergy problems. Sealing ducts can help improve indoor air quality by reducing the risk of pollutants entering ducts and circulating through your home.
Safety
During normal operation, gas, oil, appliances such as water heaters, clothes dryers, and furnaces release combustion gases (like carbon monoxide) through their ventilation systems. Leaky ductwork in your heating and cooling system may cause “backdrafting",* where these gases are drawn back into the living space, rather than expelled to the outdoors. Sealing leaks can minimize this risk.
Save Money
Leaky ducts can reduce heating and cooling system efficiency by as much as 20 percent*. Sealing and insulating ducts increases efficiency, lowers your energy bills, and can often pay for itself in energy savings.
