According to Energy Star, leaky and poorly designed ducts account for as much as 30 percent of the energy lost in the average home. If you experience uneven temperatures in your home, or hear rattling noises caused by loose ducts, make sure to find and seal them so you can save more energy dollars and increase your home comfort.
Finding Attic Duct Leaks
Most attics are inhospitable, so make sure to dress appropriately by wearing goggles and a hard hat. For a basic duct leak evaluation, you only need a few simple tools: a flashlight, a grease pencil and a smoke pencil or incense stick. Here's what needs to be done:
Turn on the HVAC system.
Mark air leaks with a grease pencil.
If your ducts are insulated, look for dirt streaks, which are a sign of air leaks.
Inspect your ducts for obvious holes, damage, tangled ducts, disconnected ducts and loose ducts.
Use the smoke pencil or incense stick to find smaller holes. Hold the smoke pencil or incense at each duct connection. If the smoke swirls, you’ve found a leak. Mark it with the grease pencil.
If your HVAC professional is evaluating your attic ducts, specialized equipment is used. A blower door test pressurizes your ducts to detect leaks, and airflow is measured across the blower (i.e. pressure drop). If you want the best duct sealing, or if you're upgrading your HVAC equipment, it’s wise to bring in the pros.
Sealing Duct Leaks
Sealing air ducts can be fairly simple, or get pretty messy. It depends how air-tight you want your ducts to be. At the very least, use foil-backed tape to wrap duct joints. For the best seal, use mastic paste first. Simply apply the paste with your gloved hands or a paintbrush. Wait a day to let it dry, and then wrap each area with the foil-backed tape.
For more information about locating and sealing leaks in your Broken Arrow or Tulsa home, contact Air Assurance.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Kichigin/Shutterstock”