Ductwork problems could be the root of energy waste in your home. In fact, ductwork problems, such as leaks or poor design, could be contributing to a large amount of energy being wasted. Instead of receiving the full amount of heated air your furnace generates, leaky, uninsulated or poorly designed ducts cause energy to be lost. But you’re still paying for all of the fuel your furnace consumes to generate usable heat.
If you suspect ductwork problems may be resulting in high energy costs, contact a professional for help addressing ductwork repairs, upgrades or retrofits. These are the common ductwork problems a professional will look for:
- Ducts that are located in unconditioned areas of the home. Conduction losses occur when warm air travels through ducts that are located in cold spaces, like a basement or crawlspace. In this case, the warm air will lose some of its energy to the surrounding cooler spaces, resulting in energy loss. You not only pay for that energy, but it also means that the air traveling through the ducts is cooler when it arrives in your living spaces. Insulating ducts generally resolves this problem.
- Damaged or leaky ducts. Energy losses also occur when duct connections become loose or damaged, resulting in a means for conditioned air traveling through ducts to escape. A professional will use mastic sealant or metal-backed tape to close up gaps and leaks.
- Ducts that lead nowhere. A poorly planned or installed ductwork system can result in a duct that doesn’t go anywhere, and a room register that doesn’t receive conditioned air. Retrofitting the register with a duct run will resolve this ductwork problem.
- A poorly balanced duct system. A balanced system is made up of equal supply and return air runs. A professional can address imbalances by adding return runs or installing jumper ducts between rooms or undercutting doors as needed.
If you need to schedule an evaluation to get to the root of ductwork problems, please contact us at Climate Control Company today. We’ve been providing Western Colorado homeowners with quality HVAC services since 1956.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Aspen, Vail and the surrounding Western slope communities in Colorado about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about ductwork and other HVAC topics, please visit our website.
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