If your heater were making an odd noise or if it was failing to start up as temperatures dropped through your home at night, then you probably wouldn’t waste much time in contacting an HVAC professional right? After all, it may not get bone-chilling cold here, but you still deserve to live comfortably! This means your heater needs to work flawlessly for the brief time you really do need it, and you’d likely prefer to pay as little as possible for that comfort.
So, what if there’s a problem with your ductwork? What if it’s accumulated tears and damage over time? Guess what? It’s going to have serious implications for your heating system—and yes, it will hurt efficiency. More on that below, along with other reasons leaky and damaged ductwork is a problem.
System Inefficiency
We may not use our heaters a lot around here, but we do use our air conditioners. Both of these systems are connected to our ductwork, so even if a loss of heating efficiency doesn’t seem like a big deal to you, a loss of cooling efficiency should. If your HVAC system is trying to heat or cool your home with leaky ductwork, it’s going to do so with significantly reduced efficiency, as the conditioned or heated air will be escaping into unoccupied parts of your home like your attic or crawlspace.
Poor Indoor Air Quality
This is another common problem in homes with leaky ducts. If there are points of entry in your ventilation system, pollutants and allergens will make their way in. Once this happens, the ductwork itself will distribute these contaminants throughout your home. Having your ductwork professionally sealed will help you live in a cleaner and healthier environment.
Uneven Heating/Cooling
Cool spots when heating your home in the winter, and hot spots in the summer, are bound to occur in areas impacted by duct leaks. The only thing worse than living in an uncomfortable home is overpaying for comfort that you’re not even getting!
Excessive Wear and Tear
This can result in damage to your heater! The worse shape your ducts are in, the harder your heater has to work and overtime this will increase repair needs and even shorten the lifespan of the system. This is especially true for your air conditioner, too.
Sealing Your Ductwork
When we talk about duct sealing, a lot of homeowners jump to the conclusion that it’s something they can do on their own. If you have some store-bought duct tape laying around, that will do the trick, right? Not quite—unfortunately duct tape is not adequately named and won’t do much good at all.
Due to temperature fluctuations in the air ducts, this tape becomes brittle and will start to break off. Instead, you need professional duct sealing services, which involve the use of special mastic sealant. Additionally, only trained technicians should ever try to access your ductwork, to prevent further damage.
Contact Kool Breeze of Northwest Florida, Inc. for expert care with your indoor air quality and heating in Valparaiso, FL and beyond.