Leaky ductwork contributes to significant energy waste in many homes. In a typical home, 20 percent of the air that travels through the ductwork is lost through leaks, according to the U.S. government’s Energy Star program.

Sealing the cracks and gaps in your HVAC system’s air-delivery system will eliminate much of this energy waste. Sealing your ducts will also improve the air quality in your home by preventing contaminants from entering the ductwork through holes.

To increase energy efficiency and reduce contaminants:

• Check your accessible ductwork for leaks. Pay special attention to the connections between ducts and look for any holes in the ductwork. Use your hand to feel for any slight drafts along the lengths of your accessible ducts. Use a a tissue to test for leaks in return ducts (the ducts that deliver air from your living spaces back to your cooling or heating equipment). If the tissue is pulled toward the duct, you have a leak.
• You can seal many ducts yourself.  Seal leaks using duct mastic and foil tape. Replace any duct tape with foil tape for a tighter seal. Fabric-backed “duct tape” is actually inadequate for the job.
• Call an HVAC contractor to repair leaks in hard-to-reach ducts. HVAC technicians have special tools that help them repair the ducts that you can’t.

Another tip for boosting energy efficiency: Remove blockages to airflow. Check the area around all your accessible vents and grilles. Make sure rugs, drapes or curtains, furniture or other potential obstructions aren’t hindering the airflow to and from your ductwork. Check the ductwork itself for kinks (in flexible ducting) that might be hindering airflow.

For more information about sealing your ducts or improving the air quality and energy efficiency of your home, contact the experts at Conditioned Air. We serve homeowners throughout Southwest Florida.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Ductwork image via Shutterstock

Ducts distribute cooled or warmed air from your air conditioner and furnace throughout your house. When your ducts are leaky, a significant amount of this conditioned air is lost. In fact, leaky ducts lose as much as 20 percent of the air that flows through them in a typical U.S. home. Properly sealing your ducts reduces this energy loss significantly, saving you money and reducing waste. 

Signs of improperly sealed ducts include:

• Excessively high energy bills, especially when you use your air conditioner during hot Southwest Florida summers
• Difficulty keeping your home comfortable with your existing HVAC system
• Stuffy rooms
• Extra difficulty heating or cooling some rooms in the house but not others

Sealing your ducts will often go a long way toward solving these problems, making your home much more comfortable. Sealed ducts also can significantly increase your energy savings, which is great for the environment and your wallet.

If you try sealing your ducts yourself, look for leaks where the ducts attach to vents at the floors, walls or ceiling. It’s also relatively easy to inspect exposed ducts in attics and basements yourself. Perhaps surprisingly, duct tape shouldn’t be used to seal ducts — it isn’t a long-lasting solution. Instead, use mastic sealant or metal tape.

Rather than sealing ducts themselves, many homeowners choose to hire professionals to find and repair duct leaks. Some HVAC ducts are in difficult-to-reach places, such as inside the walls and ceilings. A certified professional will have the tools and experience to assess airflow throughout the house and locate leaky or kinked ducts.

For help finding and repairing duct leaks in the Southwest Florida area, contact the experts at Conditioned Air. We’ll be glad to help you identify and resolve your home’s ductwork problems.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Ductwork image via Shutterstock

Your heating and cooling system is just that — a system. Several components play a role in the overall energy efficiency of the system, including the HVAC equipment, ductwork, thermostats and your home.

Inefficiencies in any one of these areas can result in higher utility bills and reduced home comfort. However, duct efficiency plays a particularly important role because ductwork is the delivery system for heated and cooled air.

In Southwest Florida, the highest energy expense is typically for air conditioning during the long cooling season. Improving duct efficiency can help reduce energy bills by keeping more cooled air within the ductwork so it is delivered to your living spaces. These three tips will help improve duct efficiency in your home:

• Find and seal air leaks: Over time, joints between ducts can become loose, flexible ductwork can tear or be punctured and seals can become cracked. Look for air leaks near supply and return registers, at the point where the ductwork connects to HVAC equipment and at any other connection points in the duct system. Seal leaks with mastic tape and replace flexible ductwork when necessary.
• Insulate ductwork: If you have ducts running through unconditioned spaces like the garage or an unfinished basement, heat can be transferred between the air in the ducts and the air outside, heating conditioned air in summer or allowing heat to be lost in winter. This heat transfer causes your heating and cooling system to run more frequently to keep your living spaces at the desired temperature and increases energy bills.
• Ensure proper equipment sizing: If you are purchasing a new heating and cooling system, a proper load calculation is essential for maintaining good duct efficiency. While it may be tempting to buy a larger air conditioner, overloading the ducts can actually reduce energy efficiency and cost you more in the long run.

The experts at Conditioned Air can help you evaluate the performance of your entire HVAC system, including duct efficiency. Contact us at any time to schedule an appointment or just to ask for advice from one of our courteous professionals. Serving Southwest Florida, we’re always happy to help.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Ductwork image via Shutterstock

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average home loses around 20 percent of its conditioned air through leaky ductwork. That can add up to quite a lot of lost air in regions like Southwest Florida, where we rely heavily on our air conditioners.

To make matters worse, air isn’t the only thing you’re losing through gaps and cracks in your ducts. Leaky ductwork also costs homeowners:

• Money. That air leaking into unconditioned spaces such as walls and attics is air you have paid to heat or cool.
• Comfort. Leaks prevent air from being properly circulated through your home.
• Efficiency. Your HVAC equipment has to work overtime to compensate for leaks, resulting in more energy use. This also can contribute to maintenance problems and shorter equipment life.
• Air quality. Leaks allow dust, allergens and other pollutants to enter your ducts, which means they can be distributed throughout your home.

The good news is that leaky ductwork is usually easy and inexpensive to repair. You can probably do most of it yourself, if you’re so inclined. Most leaks are found in accessible areas, such as crawl spaces, utility closets, garages and attics.

Seal with mastic sealant or metal tape, not duct tape. It helps to turn your furnace or air conditioner on so you can feel escaping air as you examine your ductwork. Look for:

• Kinked, tangled or crushed sections.
• Holes or tears.
• Leaks at connections.
• Disconnected ducts at registers and grilles.
• Missing or damaged duct insulation.

Some ductwork will be difficult to reach, such as sections behind walls or between floors. For these sections the easiest solution is to have a certified and knowledgeable technician test for leaks using special equipment.

Your HVAC system is a big investment, and the energy it consumes to keep your home comfortable constitutes a major part of your utility bill. Repairing your ductwork can put a significant dent in that bill.

Do you have questions about ductwork or another heating and cooling issue? Contact us at Conditioned Air, and we’ll be happy to help.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about ductwork and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Conditioned Air services Southwest Florida including cities Marco Island, Ft. Myers or anywhere in between. Visit our website to see our special offers to get started today!   

Next time your air conditioning comes on, feel the air at a vent. Is it instantly cool, or does it take a few minutes to drop in temperature? Then go to the vent farthest from your A/C. Does the air have as much force there as at other vents in your home?

If your conditioned air takes awhile to cool or isn’t forceful enough, your home’s ductwork might have been poorly designed or installed.

If you have warm air coming through your vents after your A/C cycles on, the air in your ducts might be absorbing heat — particularly if you have ductwork in a hot attic. That’s a sign of poor or no insulation surrounding your ductwork. Ducts that are insulated against our Southwest Florida heat stay cooler longer.

If the cool air comes out less forcefully at certain registers or vents, your home is being cooled unevenly. Your ducts could be improperly sized; they could be bent or twisted, slowing the airflow; or your ducts may simply be too long. In an efficient and comfortable cooling system, outgoing air should be roughly equal to the air that enters your system. Otherwise, your A/C has to work harder than it should, potentially shortening its life span and boosting your utility bills.

Poor ductwork design and installation may be causing your HVAC system to use more energy than it needs to. Oftentimes, homes in Naples and Ft. Myers have been built with ductwork as a low priority, leading to contorted turns, longer runs than necessary, leaking joints and poor connections. A home must have ductwork design and installation that suits the home’s HVAC equipment and floor plan.

If you believe your ductwork might need improvements, please contact us at Conditioned Air. We can evaluate your situation and explore options that might better suit your home.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about ductwork and other HVAC topics, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Conditioned Air services Southwest Florida including cities Marco Island, Ft. Myers or anywhere in between.  To get started, check out our website or see our special offers.

Try blowing out a lighted candle from three feet away with a straw. Then try to blow out the candle as you normally would, with pursed lips. The first method almost surely will fail; the second way should bring success. A great set of lungs is useless against the candle until enough force and volume can be exerted.

In the same way, an incorrectly sized duct system can render your home’s cooling system ineffective. You might have a great air conditioner, but if your ducts can’t deliver the appropriate airflow, you have a problem. Some homes have been constructed with poorly sized ducts. Others have been built with appropriate ductwork — but rooms or sections were added later, and the duct system became too small to serve the interior space.

For air ducts and your A/C to work at maximum efficiency, the duct system must be properly sized to the home and the equipment. Otherwise, you’re left with too little airflow to circulate properly. This affects the comfort of your home and how well your filter operates to keep your indoor air clean. It also affects your energy bills by making your system work harder.

If you suspect that your airflow is less than it should be or that your energy bills are needlessly high — or if your air conditioner seems to be constantly running — the problem could be the size of your ducts. Here in Southwest Florida, the professionals at Conditioned Air have the equipment, the experience and the knowledge to properly size air ducts. As always, please feel free to consult us with any questions.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about air ducts and other HVAC topics, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Conditioned Air services Southwest Florida including cities Marco Island, Ft. Myers or anywhere in between.  To get started, check out our website or see our special offers.

You may have the most energy efficient heating and cooling equipment available, but you will still waste money if that heated or cooled air is leaking out of the duct system before it reaches the rooms in your house. Your home may also be less comfortable, with some rooms never becoming cooled or heated to the desired temperature.

Proper duct sealing and insulating can help reduce the loss of cooled air and energy through leaks, rips, tears, and holes.  Don’t forget to look for kinks in the ductwork, as well.  Check the attic and garage first, as these places are easiest to access.  If duct sealing in those areas doesn’t fix the problem, it may be time to check crawl spaces and walls. Often overlooked are the spots where the ducts connect to the vent; connections can become loose here and cooled air will be lost.

Anyone who lives in southwest Florida knows how important it is to keep the house cool in summer.  If you do not have proper duct sealing, rooms can become too hot or too cold, causing you to be uncomfortable in your own home.  You may already be losing up to 20 percent of the air that passes through the ducts.  Those dollars add up fast, especially when you have to run your system more frequently to reach the desired room temperature.  There’s no reason to spend valuable money to heat your attic or crawl spaces. Make sure your air conditioning system is as efficient as possible by checking your ducts today.

If you’re not sure what to look for when checking your duct sealing, call us and we’ll look at all the seams and connections in the ducts.  Blockages and leaks may not be easy to spot with an untrained eye, but that’s why we’re here to help!

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about air ducts and other HVAC topics, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Conditioned Air services Southwest Florida including cities Marco Island, Ft. Myers or anywhere in between.  To get started, check out our website or see our special offers.

Duct sealing saves you money by allowing your heating and cooling system to operate more efficiently. In addition to saving energy, sealing ducts improves the air quality inside your home.

Ducts are essentially pipes that deliver the flow of heat and air throughout your house and they control contaminants that enter your home. Ducts that have leaks or holes, or are not connected properly, cost you money and allow dust, allergens and other pollutants to circulate throughout your home.

You may have leaky ducts if you:

• have rooms in your house that seem colder or warmer than other rooms
• have rooms in your house that seem stuffier than other rooms
• have high utility bills
• feel you have to dust more than normal
• feel that you or someone in your home is suffering from more allergies or headaches than normal

Ducts that are located in the garage, attic, crawlspace, unheated basements or other areas that are not heated or cooled can be of particular concern. Duct sealing helps prevent the loss of heat and air, keeping you cooler or warmer at a lower cost by allowing your HVAC System to operate efficiently. It also helps prevent loss of quality of your ventilation air which is part of the air delivered into your home.

Leaky ducts can cause you to lose up to 20% of your heat and air, sometimes even more. Optimizing your airflow system with duct sealing will keep you more comfortable and provide you with better air quality while saving you money.

Contrary to its name, duct tape should not be used for sealing ducts. Ducts should be sealed with a special metal backed tape or duct sealant that provides a long-lasting adhesive and is fire-resistant.

For more information on keeping your home comfortable and circulating cleaner air at an affordable cost, download our free Home Comfort Guide. Learn about maintaining your HVAC system, keeping the air in your home clean, keeping the temperature in all of your rooms comfortable, targeting  problems and more.

Conditioned Air, Inc., provides effective, affordable, air conditioning and HVAC solutions to residential and commercial clients in the Southwest Florida area.  Ask us about duct sealing and other ways that you can increase the efficiency of your heating and cooling system.

Conditioned Air services Southwest Florida including cities Marco Island, Ft. Myers or anywhere in between.  To get started, check out our website or see our special offers.