If you’re like many San Joaquin Valley homeowners, you may be unaware of how important sealing ductwork is to your home comfort and energy efficiency. Since your home’s ductwork conducts warm or cool air throughout your house, it’s important that leaks aren’t allowing the conditioned air to escape. Sealing ductwork will help keep you warmer this winter, and also benefit both your pocketbook and the environment.
Ducts can become disconnected through the natural shifting of the house or when they’re banged into while you’re working around them. Over time they can also develop tears and holes. You’ve paid to have the air that flows through your ducts heated or cooled. When that air escapes into your unconditioned attic, basement or wall space, you’re basically throwing away money. Duct leaks can reduce your HVAC system’s energy efficiency by as much as 20 percent, which can add up to a significant cost over time.
So how do you know if you need to have your ductwork sealed? Leaky ductwork frequently leads to rooms that don’t get as warm or as cool as they should. Another sign is higher utility bills than you’d expect based on the price of energy in your area. If your ducts are insulated, dirty insulation is a clue that air is escaping. If you think you have leaks but aren’t sure, you can always contact a reliable professional to set up an appointment to check your ductwork and seal it if necessary.
You can also take the do-it-yourself route with visible leaks in accessible ductwork. Use mastic sealant or metal tape to seal leaks, but don’t use duct tape. Despite its name, duct tape isn’t a reliable adhesive when it comes to sealing ductwork.
For more information about the benefits of sealing ductwork or any other HVAC matter, please contact us at Donald P. Dick Air Conditioning. We’ve proudly served the Greater Fresno area since 1970.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in the greater Fresno, California area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about properly sealing ductwork and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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