Save money on Heating and Cooling! With the cost of heating and air-conditioning fuel rising daily, more and more, people are looking to find ways of making their houses more efficient. Most building codes require contractors to air seal the building envelope to reduce convection that affects the insulation properties (R factor) of wall and floor assemblies. HVAC systems are being manufactured to increase the efficiency of the units by using make up air (exterior air sources that do not use existing conditioned air from inside the home. These high efficiency units use less air pressure in some instances to heat and cool and higher pressure at other times depending on the demand. That amount of air flowing through the duct system (delivery and return system) is affected by every connection in that sheet metal, flexible duct or insulated board. All these types of duct are required by current building codes to be sealed using exterior types of caulk and or tapes that reduce air leaks. Most older systems were installed without any type of sealant or tape to reduce the flow of air. The older systems used brute force to heat the homes they were installed in; they over pressurized the home to compensate for air leaks. This type of system basically forces that system to run more often in order to maintain the temperature selected by the occupant. This explains why we find so much interest in retrofitting older houses with insulation and sealing the locations that allow the free flow of air into the home. The efficiency of a seemingly mundane and static system such as the ductwork can save homeowner big bucks. The lost efficiency in an average house can be 20 to 30 percent or even higher depending on the age of the home. Remember your ductwork is located in areas of your house that most people do not want to be in. If your system is located in the attic and the duct is not sealed completely you are air-conditioning that attic or exterior. In a heating system the ductwork that running through unconditioned space operates in the same way, you are spending money to condition areas of your home that you don’t live in. Aerosol duct seal is blown into the ductwork and seals the seams where duct is assembled. All duct is assembled in some fashion, along the horizontal where two pieces are joined to create a channel for the main trunk. Takeoffs from the main trunk to individual locations, special assemblies to allow the duct to extend around structural elements of the house and elbow assemblies that help installers direct the ancillary lines. The air seal can even help reduce the dust in your home, your return air system (if not sealed) sucks air from all those areas you do not want to live in bring may unwanted elements into the living space. The cost for an average home between 1500 and 2500 square feet is between $1500.00 and $2500.00 depending on the number of systems you have. In most cases this is a number that is easily recovered in one to two years.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 22:30:00 +0000