How To Fix Air Duct Leaks

The ventilation system in your dwelling is responsible for keeping your home comfortable, but it'south 1 of the nigh overlooked HVAC systems.

The ductwork distributes air within your heating and cooling system to proceed your indoor living areas conditioned.

Simply if you lot have leaking air ducts, you are also workout spaces that yous might otherwise not desire to status.

These could be basements, attics, crawl spaces, wall cavities, etc.

These can manifest themselves in various ways, which we volition encompass shortly.

Keep reading to acquire more about air duct leaks, how to spot them and what you can do to prepare them.

🌬️ What Are Duct Leaks?

Duct leaks occur when air inside your duct system leaks through cracks, gaps, and seams in your ductwork organization.

University of Florida research states that "leaky ducts brand your HVAC work much harder—ducts leaking just 20% of the conditioned air passing through them cause your system to work fifty% harder."

That's significant when you spend your difficult-earned dollars on heating or cooling.

There are three types of duct leaks.

Understanding these will help you efficiently track down leaks and figure out a ready.

🔧 Supply Leaks:

Supply leaks occur with the supply air ducts. These ducts motion conditioned air from your indoor air handler to the living infinite.

🔧 Equipment Leakage:

This occurs in and around the core of your key air conditioning system. If you have a central HVAC system, this would be the indoor air handler, sometimes known every bit furnace cabinets.

🔧 Return Leakage:

This occurs when unconditioned air around the ducts gets sucked into the ductwork and moved dorsum into the airflow, returning to the indoor air handler.

This strains your HVAC system equally you are not conditioning air from unconditioned spaces instead of reconditioning air that'south already been through the heating or cooling cycle.

🌬️ How Exercise You lot Know if Your Ducts Are Leaking?

At that place are a couple of things to look out for when trying to define whether y'all have a duct leak in your home.

Here are the top three signs of leaking air ducts.

🔧 College Utility Bills

College energy bills seem to exist all the rage lately.

But if you run into a spike in your bills, your AC or furnace might employ more free energy for the aforementioned output.

Leaky ductwork can accept a huge effect on your system'south energy efficiency.

If your air ducts are leaking and reflected in your energy bill, then it'southward fourth dimension to set them.

🔧 Hot and Cold Spots In Your Home

Are y'all having difficulty cooling rooms in summertime and heating them in winter? Do y'all also have common cold or hot spots in specific areas of your home?

This is a major sign of an air duct leak.

Depending on the air leak, yous will experience reduced airflow in sure rooms, causing some areas to feel hot or cold simultaneously.

🔧 Poor Indoor Air Quality

Leaking ducts can have a major effect on your home'due south indoor air quality.

If your leaky ducts pull nonconditioned air from crawlspaces or attic, yous are introducing a lot of dust and debris into the conditioned airflow.

In fact, Energy Star stated that 20 to xxx percent of air traveling through ducts is lost due to leaks, holes and poorly connected ducts.

✅ PRO TIP: Constantly clogged air filters are a dead giveaway that you lot have a leaky duct.

🌬️ Tips on How to Comport a Visual Duct Leakage Test

🛠️ Run your HVAC Arrangement on High

You can do a quick visual check for air leaks by running your air conditioning or heating on full blast.

This will quickly show up duct leaks.

🛠️ Visual Ductwork Inspection

Check your ductwork for obvious holes or tears.

Mark trouble areas with a grease pencil to help you lot recall where you found them.

Once the visual inspection is consummate, you tin come back and fix them.

Or requite your local HVAC professional a heads up to help with their repair.

Too, cheque your air filter. If dust and droppings take been introduced into the airflow, hopefully, your air filter is capturing information technology.

It volition clog quicker than usual with duct leakage.

🛠️ Carefully Check Duct Joints

Duct joints are notorious for being the source of an air duct leak.

Joints are where ducts meet and are not always sealed correctly or have shifted over time.

Run your hand over them when doing your visual inspection with your HVAC system on.

🛠️ Check For Existing Duct Record

If you weren't the first person to own your habitation, there might be duct tape on your ducts highlighting a previous attempt at repair.

Contrary to its name, duct record isn't actually for repairing ducts.

As you are conducting your visual duct leakage test, be sure to take note of whatsoever duct tape you find and check for leaks.

If there is a leak, it will need to be repaired. But not with duct record!

🛠️ Use a Smoke Pencil

A smoke pencil is what professionals apply when looking for air leaks.

It produces a small stream of visible smoke that yous use to check for leaks.

If a leak is present, the smoke trail volition either be pulled into the duct or blown away if it's an outward leak.

These are great at finding less obvious leaks. Yous could also use an incense stick the same style.

Mark the air leak with that grease pencil and then it tin can be addressed later during the repair.

🛠️What To Do If My Ducts Are Covered With Insulation?

There is no easy answer to this question. You will accept to pull upwardly all the insulation around ducts and vents to have access.

Insulation that's moved or been blown away may place the leak if it'south a large enough leak.

Once yous accept finished your visual inspection, yous can replace the insulation.

Be conscientious not to put the insulation back if any of your ducts have been sealed with liquid products and isn't quite dry yet.

🌬️ Call in an HVAC Professional

Some leaks might be obvious, while others are not.

The leak may not be in an easily identifiable surface area with the above techniques.

This is where a professional is required to bear a duct leaking test.

HVAC technicians know what they are looking for and all the tips and tricks for correctly identifying and repairing leaks.

A duct leakage test involves connecting your ductwork to specialized equipment that uses a computer and a fan to measure out airflow.

The technician volition and so repair the leaks with either of these three duct treatments or a combination of the outset ii:

1. Specialized Tape
2. Mastic Sealant
3. Aeroseal Treatment

🌬️ Why Do We Want Sealed Ducts?

💰 Save Money!

You lot tin relieve a agglomeration of money on your energy bills by sealing duct leaks.

Your furnace, air conditioner, or heat pump doesn't have to work as difficult to move heated or cooled air effectually your home to encounter your desired temperature.

🛠️ Avoid Costly HVAC Repairs

Duct leaks increment the chances of a futurity trouble with your heating and cooling organization.

Constant run time tin can reduce the lifespan of your HVAC system.

Introducing air pollutants such as dust and other debris into the conditioned airflow can easily contribute to more frequent breakdowns.

🏭 Maintain Skillful Indoor Air Quality

Air leaks in your ductwork tin suck upwardly a whole range of bad stuff from attics and clamber spaces, all of which contribute to poor indoor air quality.

You don't want that stuff floating effectually in the air for you and your family to breathe, especially if any one of them has allergies or suffers from asthma.

Related Reading: How to Improve Your Indoor Air Quality

Related Reading: IAQ Guidelines for Single-Family unit Renovations

🌬️ How Practice You Fix a Leaky Air Duct?

Our advice: call a local and reputable HVAC company for professional person testing and duct sealing services.

Even if you follow the steps higher up, it can be difficult to detect those smaller leaks in not so easy to get to places.

If yous have completed a though inspection and detect that you still have leaks in your air duct organisation, it'southward fourth dimension to phone call a duct leakage expert.

They have the know-how and the equipment to find leaks across a visual inspection.

You will exist surprised what a positive bear upon fixing a leaky air duct can have on your HVAC system performance.

If you live in or around Central and North Okanagan regions, check out Phyxter Home Services.

Nosotros pride ourselves on providing the all-time customer service, so you can rest easy knowing you are getting the best out of your heating and air conditioning organization.

Related Reading:

• Homeowners Guide to Furnace Repair: xvi Well-nigh Common Problems & Solutions
• Practise Yous Need a Duct Booster Fan?

Source: https://phyxter.ai/blog/leaking-air-ducts

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