Designing And Maintaining An Energy-Efficient Duct System

For energy savings year in and year out, efficient ductwork design is a key factor. In addition to energy savings, your duct system contributes to your family’s comfort and indoor air quality, as well as the efficient operation of your heating and cooling system. Whether you’re sealing up your home for energy savings, undertaking new construction or retrofitting, it’s important to take specific actions to ensure optimal duct performance.

Duct Sealing

The U.S. Department of Energy and industry statistics show that households can waste up to half of the conditioned air energy through the duct system before it circulates into the living space. Sealing your duct system is a major step toward energy savings, and it lessens the load for your heating and cooling equipment. These are the steps to take:

• Your ductwork should be checked for leakage at elbows and joints. Seal any loose connections.
• Add insulation to ductwork in unconditioned spaces, such as your basement and attic.
• Check each air-supply register for equal pressure. Remove any obstructions and debris. Closed doors are obstructions to airflow, and should be left open, or jumper ducts could be installed.
• Seal the windows and doors in your home. It helps with stop leakage and promotes efficient airflow.
• Check your air filter monthly. Clean or replace as needed. A clogged filter hinders airflow and burdens your heating and cooling equipment.
• Sometimes ducts get banged or stepped on. If needed, hire a heating and cooling technician to repair or replace any damaged sections.

Duct Design

If you’re undertaking new construction, or extending existing ductwork, a professional should design your ductwork to ensure the following:

• Take the most direct route from air source to the air-supply register.
• Try to avoid right-angle turns, kinking, and T-branches. Use Y-branches and curved turns instead.
• Install new ductwork in conditioned spaces, avoiding unconditioned spaces wherever possible.

By following this guide, you’ll achieve greater comfort, energy savings and longer-lasting equipment. Call us at Paschal Heating, Air & Geothermal, and we’ll be happy to help.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about duct systems and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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