Cooperative Living August 2016 - 28

EnergySense | by Pat Keegan and Amy Wheeless, Contributing Writers
Home
Is your ductwork delivering?
Comfort &
Efficiency
Here are some of the best ways to assess the condition of your home's ductwork.
Some of
your ducts may
be in hard-to-reach
places; a professional
trained in HVAC
and ductwork
can help.
D
ear Pat: I recently moved
from a home with wallmounted
heaters to one with
central heat and air, and a duct
system. How can I ensure my ducts
are working efficiently? - Carla
Dear Carla: Homes with central
forced-air heating and cooling
systems, like furnaces, central air
conditioners and heat pumps, use
air ducts to deliver the conditioned
(heated or cooled) air through the
home. Ducts are often concealed
in walls or in areas of your home
you don't go to often, like a crawl
space, so many people do not
immediately think of them as an
area to save energy.
You may have received flyers in the
mail with offers for air-duct cleaning
and claims that doing so will improve
the air quality and efficiency of your
home. However, duct cleaning may
not always be necessary for air quality,
and there is no indication that just
cleaning your air ducts will improve
your system's efficiency.
26 | Cooperative Living | August 2016
Duct cleaning may
be necessary if:
* There is visible mold in your
duct system or there was a
recent flood that caused
mold or mildew in your
home.
* There is something in the
ductwork impeding airflow,
like debris or an infestation.
Major renovations or new
construction can put
construction debris into the
duct system, so postconstruction
is an ideal time
to consider duct cleaning.
* Your heating registers are
releasing dust into the air.
* Home residents have
allergies or asthma problems
that have not been alleviated
by other changes.
While duct cleaning may not always
be necessary, regularly changing your air
filters can help your heating and cooling
system work more efficiently. How often
you change them depends on how much
your system runs, whether you have
pets and whether you periodically
vacuum your air filters. For the average
home, air filters should be changed four
to six times a year.
Though duct cleaning may not do
much for the efficiency of your systems,
duct sealing is important for saving
energy and lowering utility costs,
particularly if your ducts are in
unconditioned spaces, like a crawl space
or an uninsulated attic. In a typical
home, 20 to 30 percent of heated or
cooled air escapes through unsealed
gaps and holes in the duct system,
which can cost you money and make
your home less comfortable. You
wouldn't put up a with a leaking water
pipe, so why should you put up with a
leaking air duct?
The best way to assess the condition
of your home's ductwork is to have it
tested by a professional home energy
continued on pg. 28
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Cooperative Living August 2016

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