HVAC Tips / November 3, 2020
4 Reasons to Consider Duct Sealing for Your Home
When it comes to heating and cooling your home, efficient air circulation is just as important as the efficiency of your furnace and air conditioner. Gaps and leaks in your ductwork could be doing more harm to your home’s comfort — and your wallet — than you realize. Here are four ways that duct sealing can benefit almost every home.
1. Better Indoor Air Quality
Every homeowner should be concerned with indoor air quality, but this is especially true if you or a member of your family suffers from allergies or other respiratory problems. Under normal circumstances, the air that your HVAC system circulates passes through the return duct and the furnace filter before entering the occupied areas of your home.
Leaky ducts, on the other hand, can draw in air from inside your walls and crawl spaces. The air in these areas is likely to contain a much higher amount of dust and other contaminants that it then circulated through your home. This can reduce indoor air quality and clog your furnace filter more quickly, and it can even damage your HVAC system as dust builds up on the internal components.
2. More Consistent Temperature
Leaky ducts may allow the conditioned air to escape to parts of your home where it isn’t needed. This reduces the overall volume of air that is able to reach any point beyond the location of the leak. This could mean a room or an entire floor in your home won’t receive the air required to heat and cool it effectively.
Sealing your ducts restores the air balance of your HVAC system. Duct sealing can eliminate hot and cold spots throughout your home caused by leaks in your ductwork so you can enjoy a consistent temperature in every room. After sealing your ducts, you should notice more air from the vents and better temperature control in the rooms furthest from your air handler.
3. Increased Energy Savings
Any conditioned air that escapes where it isn’t needed is money wasted running your furnace or air conditioner. According to Energy Star, the average home loses 20 to 30 percent of the air from the HVAC system due to leaky ductwork, this loss can add up.
Your furnace and air conditioner are designed to run continuously until the temperature set on the thermostat is reached, but this is harder to do when the ducts leak air. In addition to wasting energy by heating or cooling air that is lost to leaks, your HVAC system will also have to run longer to make up for the lost heating or cooling potential of the leaked air. These longer cycle times will run your energy bill up even further.
4. Longer HVAC System Life
Your HVAC system will wear over time from normal use, but leaks in your ductwork can compound this effect. Gaps in your ducts that allow dirty air to enter the system can cause overheating or component failure. And longer cycle times caused by reduced heating and cooling capability will accelerate wear and can shorten the life of your system.
Air imbalances caused by duct leaks can reduce the volume of return air that is available to your system, which can also lead to damage. Without adequate airflow, problems such as air conditioner freezing and air handler heating are more likely. Depending on the severity of the leak, duct sealing can potentially save your HVAC system from an unexpected breakdown.
Duct leaks are sometimes difficult to detect, but the benefits that duct sealing can bring to your home are impossible to ignore. Contact Mauzy Heating, Air & Solar today if you are unsatisfied with your HVAC system’s performance so we can find the right solution for your home.
