Most homeowners only think about their heating and cooling system making their home comfortable but duct returns play an important role in keeping your family comfortable and your home energy efficient. When working effectively, duct returns help keep a balanced airflow and a constant temperature in your home. Follow these three steps for optimal comfort:
Step One: Design
- For optimal comfort and efficiency, most rooms of your home should have a supply register and return grill.
- Move furniture blocking return grills to avoid limited air circulation.
- The return and supply ducts should be sized accordingly to accommodate an equal airflow and a constant room temperature.
- If you are concerned about the supply and return ducts in your home, contact a qualified technician to determine if your duct system is adequate.
Step Two: Examine your duct returns
- Annual routine inspections of duct returns will assist in quality performance of your heating and cooling system and lower your energy bills.
- Dried caulking or sealants and old duct tape may cause cracked seams or separations on the ducts where conditioned air can escape, causing your energy bills to increase.
- Contaminants from unconditioned areas of the home can enter the cracks in the ducts and circulate through the system. These contaminants can aggravate health issues such as allergies and asthma in family members.
- Also, look for leaks under worn insulation, which can go unnoticed for years and waste energy.
Step Three: Cleaning your ducts and grills
- Return grills collect dust, pet dander and pollutants but regular cleaning will prevent most pollutants from circulating through the ducts.
- When the system is not operating, remove the return grills and wash the grills with a mild soap. Dry completely before replacing the grills.
- Remove the grills and vacuum the return ducts to remove loose dirt and dust.
These three steps are a starting point for homeowners, but to ensure optimal comfort for your family, have a certified technician evaluate your duct returns. For more information, contact the expert team at Climate Control Company, serving Western Colorado for more than 50 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about duct returns and other HVAC topics, please visit our website.
Climate Control Company services Aspen, Vail and the surrounding Western slope communities in Colorado.
