It can be quite difficult to keep your Yuma home comfortable when airflow is unbalanced from the air vents and temperatures vary from one room to the next. Comfort problems are often the result of a hidden HVAC problem, rather than thermostat settings or your heat pump—especially if you hear rattling and clamoring from the vents. A thorough ductwork inspection may reveal that you could vastly improve comfort with professional duct sealing. Here’s why:
Duct Design and Comfort Are Interdependent
Your home’s cooling and heating system condition indoor air to your liking based on thermostat settings. However, it’s your air ducts that convey the cooled and heated airflow to the rooms of your home. If you have a duct leak problem, you have a comfort problem.
Duct Inspection
Your HVAC technician starts with a walk-through of your home to get a feel for air pressure and temperature at each vent. Unbalanced airflow and uneven temperatures are sure signs of duct leaks and inadequate insulation. A visual inspection of accessible ducts is performed. Your technician is looking for obvious leaks, disconnected duct lengths, holes, tangles, and building cavities used for ducts.
The technician may also use a blower door test to measure the rate of duct leakage and an artificial fog test to pinpoint duct leaks.
Duct Sealing
Duct sealing and repairs should be performed to HVAC-industry best practices as outlined in Manual D from the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA). This means using industry-approved materials, such as heat-resistant metal tape, mastic sealant, joint collars, and fiberglass mesh for holes. If air ducts outside the conditioned spaces of your home need insulation, you’ll have the choice of rigid fiber board or fiberglass rolls.
To seal duct leaks and seams, malleable mastic paste is applied, followed by metal tape and joint collars. After your ducts are impermeably sealed, insulation can be installed where needed to block heat gain/loss.
When performed by a professional, duct sealing is going to boost comfort in your Yuma home and save energy through the seasons. For more information, contact Hansberger Refrigeration and Electric Company.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Yuma, Arizona about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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