Cincinnati homeowners are always searching for ways to lower their monthly energy bills. What if we told you there was an easy way to shave as much as 30% off your heating and cooling budget? Duct sealing benefits the home and its occupants in many ways – the savings is just the start of it!
Thomas & Galbraith’s NATE-certified HVAC professionals share more information about duct sealing benefits and our process. This duct system service helps Cincinnati homeowners reduce costs, improve indoor comfort and air quality, and protect their valuable heating and cooling equipment. Learn how duct sealing benefits make a difference for your family – request a free estimate from Thomas & Galbraith today!
When you set the temperature on your home’s thermostat, you expect your heating or cooling system to deliver that warmed or cooled air into the rooms throughout your home. Forced air heating and cooling systems do this using a duct system to feed conditioned air to living areas across the entire residence.
Unfortunately, duct leaks exist in most homes, which stop all your heating and cooling from reaching indoor areas. As much as 20% to 30% of heating and cooling energy is lost through duct leaks, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Holes, cracks, and disconnections in the duct system allow some of the conditioned air produced by your furnace, heat pump, or air conditioner to escape the ductwork before reaching the rooms of your home. When duct leaks are present, not all of your conditioned air makes it into your kitchen, living room, den, bedrooms, and other areas.
A home’s duct system has a supply side that feeds conditioned air to your living areas, as well as a return side that returns the air to the heating and cooling system for conditioning – duct leaks occur in either side of the duct system. Commonly, they are found due to:
Duct leaks cause many problems for Cincinnati area homeowners, including:
While air leaks are present in most residential duct systems, there is a way to fix this problem – duct sealing. Duct sealing benefits Cincinnati area homeowners in many ways, eliminating the issues brought about when conditioned air is able to escape the duct system.
As heated and cooled air escapes through duct leaks before entering living areas around your home, the energy used conditioning that air is wasted. As much as 30% of the energy consumed by your HVAC system to heat or cool air is thrown away through these openings in your ducts! With ducts running through areas of the home that don’t need conditioned air, such as attics, basements, and crawlspaces, you’re essentially paying to heat and cool these areas instead of fully heating and cooling your living areas.
This loss of conditioned air is just one-way duct leaks waste energy. Energy is also wasted because your heating and cooling system must do additional work to produce more conditioned air in order to make up for what was lost. This energy would not have been expended by the system otherwise.
Duct sealing benefits homeowners by conserving heating and cooling energy. With more heating and cooling energy making its way into your living areas and fewer HVAC system cycles to make up for air loss, your HVAC system operates at its expected efficiency levels. Less energy is wasted, therefore less energy is consumed because there’s no need to make up for the waste.
Obviously, duct sealing benefits your utility bills as well. The amount of energy consumed by your heating and cooling systems is what you pay for each month. When these systems consume less energy due to duct sealing benefits, your utility bills lower accordingly. Your investment in duct sealing is able to pay for itself over time by generating significant savings on your monthly energy bills.
It is difficult for your home’s heating and cooling systems to keep indoor living areas comfortable when air leaks are present in the duct system. Some of the heating and cooling meant for your home escapes before reaching its intended destination. Therefore, your rooms don’t reach the right temperatures and your HVAC equipment continues to work until it makes up for the loss. It takes longer to reach your preferred temperature, making it harder to keep the home comfortable.
Air loss isn’t the only issue with duct leaks that impacts temperatures. When an opening is present in the duct system, air from outside the ducts is able to make its way into the otherwise sealed system. With ducts running through attics, basements, and crawlspaces, the air from these unconditioned areas can be tens of degrees different in temperature than the conditioned air moving through the ducts. As unconditioned air mixes with conditioned air in the duct system, temperatures are impacted and the air you finally receive in your living areas is not what you expected. Then, your HVAC system must continue to work over in order to make up for this difference.
Duct sealing benefits homeowners by offering better temperature control and improved home comfort. By eliminating air leaks from the duct system, your HVAC system is able to produce and deliver the exact temperatures your thermostat calls for. There’s no need to continue to adjust the thermostat up or down to hit the right temperature
Those openings in the duct system don’t just let unconditioned air in – they let contaminants in, too. The attics, crawlspaces, basements, and other unconditioned areas where ducts run are typically home to higher levels of airborne contaminants, including dust, dirt, mold, and other particles.
Particles from outside the duct system make their way in and mix with the conditioned air being fed into your living areas. Once they make their way into your rooms, occupants are exposed to higher concentrations of contaminants, including common allergens, that lead to physical symptoms such as itchy eyes, nose, and throat, skin irritations, headaches, and more. Allergy and asthma sufferers are more frequently exposed to their triggers and may suffer more frequent attacks.
Improved indoor air quality and reduced contaminant levels are important duct sealing benefits, especially in homes with those who are sensitive to certain particulates. Sealing duct leaks helps keep contaminant levels under control, which keeps your home’s air healthier and surfaces cleaner. Plus, the interiors of your ducts do not accumulate buildup as fast, so the need for duct cleaning is reduced.
By reducing the amount of work necessary for your home’s heating and cooling system, duct sealing benefits your equipment by keeping it in better condition. With fewer heating and cooling cycles operating to make up for air loss, the system is safeguarded from additional wear and tear that is caused over the course of use. Wear and tear contribute to system breakdowns and early system malfunctions that create the need to replace equipment before anticipated.
Through better system conditions, duct sealing benefits have the potential to help homeowners save money on HVAC repair and replacement costs. With less wear and tear, you’re less likely to need frequent calls to your HVAC technician for repairs. The system also stays in good shape for a longer period, which helps prevent breakdowns that cause irreversible damage to the system, requiring premature replacement.
Thomas & Galbraith uses the Aeroseal process to deliver duct sealing benefits in Cincinnati homes. This process allows difficult ductwork to be addressed without added labor and ensures leaks are tightly sealed.
Prior to performing service, a pre-test is performed by pressurizing the home’s ductwork. With exit points sealed, we are able to monitor the duct system’s air losses and recommend if duct sealing is right for you.
If duct sealing is needed, Aeroseal sealant is added to the pressurized system. It travels through the ducts and attaches to leak openings as air escapes the system. Any breach in the duct system becomes thoroughly sealed through this safe, non-toxic sealant.
This process offers the duct sealing benefits discussed above and addresses all areas of a home’s duct system equally. Ducts are sealed from the inside out, so there is no opportunity for a leak to be missed.
Gain the duct sealing benefits mentioned above when you schedule service from Thomas & Galbraith for your Cincinnati home. Our NATE-certified technicians perform Aeroseal duct sealing services to deliver better comfort, improved efficiency, and more. Contact us today to request a free estimate for duct sealing.