Many homeowners are on the right track with making their homes more energy efficient. They replace the old heating and cooling systems with high efficiency units, install a programmable thermostat, have their yearly maintenance performed, and replace the furnace filter regularly. However, thousands of homes that have these improvements are still wasting loads of energy. How is this possible? Leaky or poorly insulated duct work is the problem.
Problems Caused by Leaky and Un-insulated Duct-work
When the builder installed the duct work system in your home, they had to place sections of the duct-work system in areas that are no conditioned by the air conditioner or furnace. As a result, the air that passes through the ducts will either loose heat or cooling to the duct work material. For example, attics are common place for duct work to be hidden. During the winter, the temperature in the attic is similar to the temperature outside. When the duct work is not insulated, it becomes very cold. As hot air passes through the ducts, some heat is lost to the cold duct-work material whether it is metal, fiberglass, or another duct-work type.
By the time the hot air reaches the rooms in your home, it has lost a good percentage of its heat. The furnace will, in turn, be required to run for longer periods of time in order to compensate for the heat loss. This drives up energy bills and decreases the furnaces efficiency. Add gaps or leaks to the problem and you could easily have a major problem on your hands.
Gaps are common at the joints between sections of duct work. The older the system is, the better the chance is that it is full of leaks. Besides loss of heating and cooling, you also may have an air flow problem. As the air passes through the ducts, it will escape through the cracks in the system, and by the time the air reaches the target room, it will have lost some of the force that was pushing it into the room. This will result in rooms of the home that do not receive adequate heating and cooling.
Solving the Problem
If you are a big “do it yourself” type person, this is a job you may be able to handle on your own. These are a few steps to help make the job a little easier.
- Locate “At Risk” Duct-work- Check the attic, crawl space, unfinished basement, and garage for sections of duct work that you can access. These are the areas that suffer most when ducts are not sealed or insulated. Also check the registers in every room if you can access them easily.
- Turn On the Furnace- When the furnace is in operation, feel along the outside of the duct-work for heat that is escaping. If the duct-work is already insulated, areas of the insulation that are black indicate the presence of a leak.
- Sealing the Gaps- Use a mastic tape, NOT DUCT TAPE, to seal the areas where you were able to feel heat escaping.
- Adding Insulation- If your ducts are not insulated or if your ducts have old insulation wraps, purchase duct wrap insulation with an r-value between 6 and 11. These are usually made out of fiberglass though there are other options out there. Connect the different sections of insulation with a staple gun because staple are less likely to lose their grip with time compared to foil tape.
If this project seems a little labor intensive that your best bet would be to hire a contractor. The benefit of hiring a reliable contractor is that they will be able to access sections of duct work that you wouldn’t be able to. They will also be able to replace sections of duct work that have been crushed or damaged, and if you choose your contractor wisely, there is a good chance you will get the job done right. Don’t let your ducts leak another day. Investigate your situation and make repairs today!