Tight Ducts Will Help Keep the Heat Inside Your Home

Your air ducts have a major influence on how efficiently your furnace deals with the Wilmington area’s frosty winter weather. Tight ducts waste less air, delivering warmth to your rooms more efficiently.

Lower Bills, Greater Comfort

Ducts are prone to air leakage around joints between two lengths of duct and where the ducts connect to the HVAC air handler and air registers. In the average home, these points cause the duct system to leak 10 to 30 percent of the air it carries. This air goes to waste in your attic, basement and walls.

To prevent this, duct connections should be tightly fit together and sealed with mastic or foil-backed tape. A DIY job will help somewhat, but a professional can bring your duct leakage down to as little as 5 percent. With less duct leakage, more warm air will reach your living space. You’ll be able to lower your thermostat temperature to save money with no loss of comfort. Better airflow also helps even out your home’s temperatures, reducing cold and hot spots.

Improved Health and Safety

Leaky ducts suck in dust, mold spores, insulation fibers, and other contaminants from the attic and other spaces they pass through. Those contaminants are then distributed to your rooms. Tight ducts keep the contaminants out so your indoor air stays clean. Well-sealed ducts also reduce the risk of moisture and mold problems in the attic, further contributing to high indoor air quality.

As leaky ducts suck in air, they create negative air pressure in your rooms. This can draw exhaust fumes from appliances such as your gas stove away from the flue and into your living space, putting harmful carbon monoxide into your air. Even low-level carbon monoxide exposure can cause headaches and other symptoms, but tight ducts help protect you.

At Sobieski Services, Inc., our goal is to help our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey learn more about energy and home comfort issues – especially HVAC and plumbing issues – so that they can save money and live in healthier, more comfortable homes.

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