Sealing Your Ductwork Helps Improve HVAC Efficiency

Ducts are like the lungs of the house, distributing conditioned air throughout the living space. With proper filtration and a well-sealed duct system, the indoor air should be clean and fresh. Poorly sealed ducts allow conditioned air to escape and unconditioned outside air to infiltrate the system. Experts estimate that approximately 20% to 30% of the air flowing through ducts is lost because of holes, poor joints, and leaks. Ductwork sealing offers several benefits, including improved comfort and energy efficiency.

What Is Ductwork Sealing?

Duct sealing closes gaps, tears, and holes in ductwork by blowing sealant into the ducts. The water-based, nontoxic sealant adheres to gaps and holes in the interior of the ducts. Technicians block all vents and registers to pressurize the system and identify where leaks occur. Aerosol particles injected into the ducts float in the airstream. Holes and leaks cause a disruption in the steady airflow, drawing the particles to the gaps.

Approximately 10% of the particles adhere to holes and gaps. As the sealant flows through the system, technicians capture the remaining particles with filters, which prevent them from entering the living space. Any unrecovered sealant is harmless and dries quickly.

Because ducts are often in hard-to-reach places, aerosol sealant injected into ducts seals up to 99% of leakage. In comparison, manual sealing with duct tape or mastic typically seals less than 10% of leakage.

Benefits of Duct Sealing

Leaking ducts affect energy efficiency, allowing up to 30% of the conditioned air generated by a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system to escape. Sealed ducts keep this air within the HVAC system. Studies show that duct sealing can save between 20% and 40% on energy bills.

Other benefits include:

• Improved comfort by reducing drafts and uneven heating and cooling in rooms.
• Reduced entry of dust and pollutants into the living space through ducts.
• Improved system performance. Your HVAC system does not have to work as hard to maintain temperature and humidity. Reduced strain on the system can lengthen the service life.
• Enhanced safety. Minimizes back-drafting of toxic gases from oil and gas appliances.

Call the Experts at Lakeside Heating and Air Conditioning

Lakeside Heating and Air Conditioning has served residential and commercial customers in Denver, North Carolina, and the greater Lake Norman area for decades. We are a full-service HVAC company, providing new installations, repairs, maintenance, indoor air quality solutions and duct sealing.

Our qualified service technicians undergo extensive training from Aeroseal, the company that developed the technology in partnership with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Department of Energy. Call today for more information about the benefits of duct sealing or to schedule service.