Protecting against Energy Loss In Your Ductwork - Whether or not Your House Is Old or New

Because the entire treated air within your house travels within the ductwork, there's a considerable possibility of energy reduction in this part of the system. In new houses or old, however, there are certainly efficient ways to prevent this energy loss as well as waste of money that results.

Design

The design of both the supply and return ductwork has a major effect on duct efficiency and energy loss. Your duct system has to be made to fit inside the space available to it. Based on your home’s configuration, the design could possibly be insufficient to deliver conditioned air for all areas of your house. An excess of “Y” branches or damaged ducts may also mean very poor performance. Design factors are simpler to address during new construction, but even in existing houses, ductwork can be reconfigured to become more efficient.

Sealing

Your whole network of ducts needs to be properly sealed for preventing air leaks and energy loss. Each part of the ductwork should fit securely together with adjoining sections, specifically elbows and joints. Connections have to be sealed with mastic or metal tape. Typical duct tape isn't suggested because the adhesive can dry up and fail after some time. Ducts also need to be adequately insulated since energy is often lost within the thin metal of the ductwork itself.

Sizing

Ducts have to be correctly sized to be effective and avoid energy loss. They have to be large enough to carry and disperse sufficient volumes of heated or cooled air to the furthest points of the duct network. They can't be too small or they'll limit airflow within the system.

Placement

Ducts must be placed into conditioned and insulated parts of the house where possible. Running ductwork through garage areas, crawl spaces, or unfinished basements or attics increases the chance of energy loss.

Contact Sandium Heating and Air today for answers to your questions about ductwork efficiency and just what may be done to reduce energy loss all through your ductwork system.

Signs That Your Ductwork Needs Attention

Your home's ductwork deliver heated or cooled air to every room. Sometimes, problems occur within the ductwork system that if not repaired can waste your money, and result in a less comfortable home and could even lead to illness. Here are some signs that your ductwork needs attention.

• Leaky or disconnected ducts. The largest duct-related problems are leaks (from holes or tears) and disconnected joints that allow heated and cooled air to escape into unoccupied spaces, such as the attic, garage or crawlspace. 
• Uninsulated ductwork runs through unconditioned spaces. Heat loss and heat gain occur when ductwork passes uninsulated through the attic, garage or crawlspace. Heat transfer results in significant energy losses that raise your heating and cooling bills. All you need to fix this problem is to install insulation around well-sealed ductwork, and you’ll keep heated and cooled air where it belongs.
• Airflow problems. If air flowing from any supply vents feels lukewarm, or there doesn’t seem to be any air flowing at all, your ductwork needs attention. 
• Inadequate return ducts. In some homes, leaky joist spaces are improperly used to channel airflow. Other homes have no return ducts at all, forcing HVAC equipment to consume more energy to keep the home comfortable. The lack of a return duct system can also depressurize the home and give rise to health hazards.

If you find that any of these troubling signs apply to you, your ductwork needs attention. Be sure to leave any duct changes or repairs in the hands of a qualified professional. 

Easy Home Electricity Savings By Duct Sealing and Insulation

Most people are searching for ways to "go green" nowadays. From water bottles made from plants, to old tires becoming development materials, businesses everywhere are marketing "green". All of this talk of carbon footprints and global warming has successfully made its way into the everyday vernacular and left homeowners evaluating their own impact.

Their are a number of gimmicks around to maximize your electricity efficiency and reduced your power bills, but most of them just pray on an increasingly energy conscious public. Doing work in the weatherization field I frequently get questioned for advice on cutting back on utilities and making a home more energy-efficient. I usually respond by telling the homeowner to adhere to some basic steps: shut off lights that are not being used, and then get a programmable thermostat assuming they don't curently have one.

If they need to do more however, I let them know that one of the greatest returns on investment for virtually any house is raising the efficiency of their forced-air heating and air conditioning system. Typical cooling and heating systems may be over 20 % inefficient. These inefficiencies signify that for each and every five dollars in paying to heat or cool your home, a dollar has been thrown away trying to condition your attic or unfinished basement. For those who spend $2000 dollars per year on heating and air conditioning utilities it's a waste of $400! That's money you're wasting and greenhouse gases which are being produced without real gain. Give it some thought, the less energy-efficient your house, the more you undoubtedly pay to pollute our environment.

By sealing and insulating your ducts you could dramatically boost your systems efficiency. Improperly sealed ducts can dump your conditioned air (air that's the humidity and temperature you prefer) back into the non-conditioned areas the ducts are running through. It's efficiency lost! Additionally, non-sealed return ducts will in fact pull the non-conditioned air surrounding them into your ducts causing your system to have to work much harder to maintain your house for the desired humidity and temperature. Certain house appliances for example hot water heaters and furnaces may also emit dangerous gases like deadly carbon monoxide which could then be drawn in to the ducts through leaky return ducts.

Not insulating your ducts is actually as bad as not insulating your home. Not only does insulating your ducts reduce condensation which can cause moisture problems and toxic mold, but it also assists in keeping the air within the duct the proper temperature. Consider this, if your ducts are carrying 72 degree air yet the ducts are the same temperature as a basement, say 50 degrees, this is a 20 degree temperature battle taking place from your furnace till the air makes its way out into your livable areas of your home.

Duct sealing and insulation is inexpensive as a do-it-yourself project. When you understand what to find and where you should go, you may easily do-it-yourself throughout the course of a few weekends. You don't have to shut off your furnace or air conditioning system to insulate and seal the ducts. Obviously, I normally recommend getting a professional get it done if you aren't very technically inclined, however this is among the safer DIY projects. In either case with all the expense of energy increasing this can be a great project for you to do and also to realize an incredibly quick return-on-investment.

5 Tips To Winterize Your Home

1. Tune-up the heating system

 

As you probably know from the previous winters, approximately 30% of the household expenses during the cold season stem from the heating system. On a side note, based on the region you live in and the resource you utilize for heating - mainly electricity, gas and oil - this expenditure could easily double. Therefore, it is highly advisable to test their functionality, check for faulty devices, change filter systems and perform any other maintenance tasks to ensure they are in top working condition.

 

2. Check the insulation on the ductwork

 

Without properly insulating the ductwork that runs all across your house, you risk wasting about 60% of the heated air by trying to maintain a comfortable temperature indoors. If you're tired of wasting so much money, then it would be a good idea to insulate the ducts, particularly in the cold areas of one's house such as the basement, attic or crawlspaces. In case you observe pinches and gasps, then utilize a metal backed tape to fix them. Even though regular duct tape can do the trick in most cases, it won't be as efficient if you have an older ductwork. Don't forget to wrap up the pipes that run outside your house as well.

 

3. Button up the home windows

 

Ideally, winterizing the windows would imply replacing the current home windows with resilient storm house windows as their extra layer of protection works great on keeping the warmth inside the house. However, if you can't afford to spend money on new home windows, there is still a viable solution for your personal situation, namely insulated blinds. While many homeowners don't give them too much credit, in reality the insulated blinds have the potential of doubling or even tripling a window's efficiency level.

 

4. Block the air leaks

 

Did you know that air infiltration is the number one reason for the low temperatures at your residence? However, air leaks are simple to handle as all you need to do is walk around with a smoke stick to  discover and block them. Getting door sweepers and caulking the doors and home windows is usually an easy trick to prevent cold air from making its way into your house.

 

5. A programmable thermostat would really come in handy

 

Since you want to keep the heating bill from eating into your bank account too much, it would be wise to spend money on a programmable thermostat that will turn the heating system on and off according to the desired interior temperature.

Warning signs of HVAC Ductwork Problems

HVAC ductwork issues can go unnoticed for a long time, but the efficiency of this air delivery system directly influences the performance of a home's air conditioner, central heater or heat pump.

A home's HVAC may be losing as much as 30 percent of its conditioned air as a result of faulty or leaky ducts. The HVAC system contains of a long, branching group of duct pipes that snake throughout a house, hidden behind walls, ceilings and floors, or in the attic, crawlspace or garage. Because the majority of this system is hidden, house owners can have a hard time visually assessing ductwork's condition. Further, even if the ducts were installed correctly, over time connections can loosen or ducts can incur damage.

Most often, ductwork problems require the help of a expert; however, house owners can use the list below to confirm their suspicion of problematic ducts:

* Uninsulated ducts - When a portion of the ductwork system travels through areas that do not have access to cooled or heated air, like an attic or garage, cool air moving through the ducts will succumb to the hotter attic air surrounding the duct pipes, a process called conduction. In the winter, heated air can cool off for the same reason. This ductwork problem, however, is easily remedied by insulating ducts.

* Damaged ducts - A variety of factors can lead to damaged ducts, such as connections breaking loose, human interference or poor installation methods. No matter the cause, if conditioned air leaks out of the ducts, the house owner will pay for it in terms of higher energy costs because of reduced efficiency of the HVAC system. Sealing ducts can remedy leaks, but seriously damaged ducts may require that the house owner replace a portion of the HVAC system's ductwork.

* Poor duct returns - A healthy, efficient ductwork system relies on a balanced supply of air sent into the house, along with a healthy amount of return air that moves back into the HVAC equipment. The return air portion of ductwork is particularly prone to problems such as a lack of adequate return grilles, and the HVAC system is prone to leakage too. Proper inspection will identify the root of ductwork problems. There must be an equal amount of return air to support the supply air ducts. For every 1 ton of a/c capacity there must be 400 cubic feet per minute of air volume available in both return air duct and supply air. So for example, a three ton a/c systems will need 1200 CFM of duct duct work in both supply and return air ducts.

For house owners experiencing hot or cold spots and restrictive air flow in their house should contact an HVAC qualified professional. They will perform a comprehensive ductwork inspection in the house, and will make any recommendations to improve the house owner's HVAC service.