Your homes ductwork system is a long series of pipes that run throughout your house, hiding behind its walls, ceilings, and floors.
Some will even snake their way into your attic or garage. Since the system is mainly hidden from sight, homeowners do not give much thought to their condition. Over time, air duct connections can loosen or be damaged. If you suspect that your air duct system is no longer working as before, ask your HVAC technician to examine it. One small break in the air flow can be costing you hundreds of dollars each year.
A faulty air duct system can cause a homeowner to lose up to 30% of heated or cooled air. Undetected problems directly influence how your cooling and heating systems operate and should always be repaired by a professional HVAC company.
Hot or Cold Spots
The first sign of trouble may be a consistently hot or cold spot in your home. This is an indication that air may be escaping from a duct hidden behind a wall. When you call your HVAC company make sure to alert them to these spots. You may also notice one of your vents is not pushing out a significant amount of air. This too is indicative of an issue.
Improper Insulation
Improper insulation is a major factor in poor air production in a duct system. Ducts that travel through an area of your home that is not heated or cooled, such as an attic or garage, need to be wrapped in insulation. If not they will lose valuable energy to a process called conduction, where the air moving through the ducts succumbs to the temperature of the air inside the space. An HVAC technician can wrap the ducts in insulation, minimizing the loss.
Initial Installation Problems
Poor initial installation may lead to damaged ducts in the future. Connections may come loose or completely pull apart from each other. Sealing a duct is an option, but if the break is severe, parts may need to be replaced entirely. Since your air ducts are mostly located in hard to get areas of your home, it is important that a qualified HVAC company be hired to do the job. Inexperience may lead to the same problem occurring in the near future.
The most complicated problem that could be affecting your systems duct work are its returns. These are the ducts that carry air back to your heating or cooling system. If there is not enough return air flow, your system will not function in the way it was intended. An unproportionate amount of return air grilles to supply air grilles can cause inefficiency in your heating and cooling systems. The return-air ducts are also prone to leakage which may be problematic. A quick count of the number of intake grilles to outtake grilles should be enough for an HVAC technician to determine if that is indeed the problem.
At any time, if you feel that your home is not being heated or cooled to the same effectiveness as the previous season, Thomas Hoffmann Air Conditioning & Heating LLC will be able to help you determine what the root of the problem is, and resolve it. Contact us today at (314) 471-7625.