Get Your Ducts In A Row

Happy Friday everyone and welcome back. Let’s talk ductwork today. When was the last time you actually gave any thought about the duct system in your home? Probably never, is in my best guess, the collective answer.

Many air conditioning companies fail to recognize the importance of the duct system when it comes to the comfort of your home, hence people put new air conditioners in their homes hoping to have comfort issues resolved, only to be greatly disappointed when the home cools the same as it did before or in some cases, if your equipment has multiple stages or variable speeds, the performance can be even worse.

Perhaps the best analogy I can come up with is the relationship between a car and its tires. You just went out and purchased a shiny new Corvette with those nice big wide tires. I am going to take all four tires off and replace them with four doughnut spares — do you think the Vette is going to perform as you would like it to? This is the same relationship an air conditioning system has to its ductwork. I can take the best air conditioner on the market and if there are issues with the duct system it will never perform as advertised.

Again, if you are in the market for a new air conditioning system for your home, please make sure whatever contractor you choose is checking on the ductwork, so you get the best possible results.

The most common issue we find when doing duct inspections is duct leakage due to improper sealing of the duct connections or connections that have just deteriorated from age. Most of the duct systems here are all in the attic and a typical attic will run 140 – 150 degrees on a hot summer day. Think about it, those connections have been sitting in that kind of heat for 5, 10 or 20 years. As with anything mechanical, they can probably use a little TLC. There are several methods for repairing these connections with the most effective being ArtieSeal™.

ArtieSeal™ is a process in which the ducts are sealed from the inside out. All the supply grills are removed and sealed off using a 2” thick Styrofoam block. The duct system is then pressurized and tested for air loss, giving us a baseline for improvement. The patented sealing material is then injected into the duct system and it will seal holes up to 5/8” in diameter. After the seal is performed, we then test out to show our clients how much of an improvement we can make on the duct system. The typical duct system we test is losing 300-500 CFM (cubic feet per minute) of air when we start, no duct system will ever seal 100%. We have seen CFM loss reduced as low as 19 CFM. If you would like to see the process first hand, watch the This Old House episode where they are performing an ArtieSeal™.

Once again and as always, Art Plumbing, AC and Electric can evaluate your duct system for you so you can achieve the most efficient comfortable home possible. Just give us a ring at 1-800-475-1504 or visit www.artplumbingandac.com to schedule your duct evaluation today.

House Whisperer out!!

PS: According to The US Department of Energy, a properly sealed duct system can save you up to 20% on your AC electrical costs.