Customize the Ductwork for Your Business HVAC System

Your business HVAC system produces heating or cooling for your commercial building. However, without an efficient ductwork system, there would be no way for the warm or cool air to reach the inside of your office, retail store, or industrial facility. The ductwork in your HVAC system provides the vital connection between your building’s interior and your furnace or air conditioner. By effectively planning, designing, and customizing the ductwork in your business HVAC system, you can significantly improve indoor comfort, cut your monthly energy bills, and boost the indoor air quality in your business building.

Ductwork Function

The ductwork provides the pathway for distributing heated and cooled air inside your facility. In forced-air systems, heated or cooled air is produced by the furnace, air conditioner, or heat pump. This conditioned air is then blown into the ductwork by powerful fans. The air is forced through the entire length of the duct network, where it exits at vents and registers throughout your building. When this conditioned air enters your indoor spaces, it provides the heating and cooling you need in your facility.

Ductwork Benefits

A well-designed and thoroughly sealed duct system can provide numerous benefits to you as a business owner.

• Better indoor comfort: When all the conditioned air from your HVAC system can reach the inside of your building, heating and cooling efficiency is improved and indoor comfort is increased.
• Lower monthly bills: A well-done duct system has few if any leaks where heated and cooled air can escape unused. When more conditioned air reaches your indoor spaces, less energy is needed to maintain desired indoor temperatures. No additional heating or cooling will be needed to make up for conditioned air lost to duct leaks.
• Improved indoor air quality: Indoor air quality will improve because more air can travel through the HVAC system’s filter to remove airborne particulates. Well-sealed ducts do not pull in additional contaminants through openings in the duct system.
• Less wear and tear on the HVAC equipment: When the ductwork delivers conditioned air efficiently, there is less need for the HVAC system to run excessively to keep up with indoor temperature demands.

Ductwork Leaks

The efficiency and effectiveness of your HVAC system’s ductwork can be severely affected by ductwork leaks. Leaks in the ductwork can allow conditioned air to escape before it can be directed to your indoor spaces. Damage to ducts, broken seals, loose or detached sections, and simple age can produce leaks that reduce duct efficiency.

Elements of an Efficient Ductwork System

Well-designed, constructed, and maintained ductwork systems are:

• Sealed – which means that sections of ductwork fit tightly together and there are no loose, missing, or damaged duct sections. All connections are sealed with mechanical fasteners or with mastic, a specialized sealant designed to stop air leaks at duct connections.
• Insulated – which includes applying rigid fiber board insulation or wrapping ducts in blanket-style insulation. The metal of ductwork is relatively thin, which means a certain amount heating and cooling energy can be lost through the material of the ducts themselves. Insulation prevents this energy loss and boosts ductwork efficiency.

Properly sized, which means the ducts are big enough to carry plenty of conditioned air but not so large that air is wasted or excessive energy is lost while the air is traveling through the ducts. Ducts that are too small can’t transfer enough conditioned air to effectively maintain indoor temperatures.

Installed in conditioned areas, which means ductwork is placed in rooms, wall spaces, or other locations that already receive heating and cooling. Installing ducts in unconditioned areas such as crawl spaces or garages can result in costly energy loss.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about Plumbing, HVACR, Fire Protection and Alarm Systems in Mechanical, Commercial and Residential settings. For more information on effective commercial ductwork design and configuration, and to view projects we’ve worked on, visit our website!