Duct Leakage by Treat’s Heating & Cooling
Ducts or air distribution systems are used in cooling and heating your home. They consist of a collection of tubes that distribute the heated or cooled air to different rooms. The network of small round and rectangular tubes usually constructed of sheet metal, fiberglass board or flexible tubing is found within your home.
The duct system is designed to supply rooms with air that is conditioned – meaning heated or cooled by a heating, ventilation or air conditioning unit and to circulate or return the same volume of air back into the HVAC equipment. If there is a leak in the ducts it can cause large amounts of cooled/heated air to these unconditioned areas. Duct leakage increases heating and cooling loads, often times beyond what the HCAV system can tolerate.
As homes age, their conditions change. Many systems have supply registers in each room but only one central return register for the whole home. When you close interior doors for privacy, air in that room can’t flow to a return register unless there is one located in that same room, but the supply register is still bringing in conditioned air. The delivered air has to go somewhere so the air gets forced out any space that’s available. This situation can be avoided by having supply and return ducts in each room or providing an air pathway between the room and main body of the home. This can be created by adding vents in doors or walls.
Major leaks can be found around joints at ductwork connections, around the air handler and near the vents. Look for holes, tears and loose joints. Each unsealed joint cold be a small leak or even a gap that isn’t visible. Make sure all registers and vents are firmly attached.
If you think you may have a duct leakage issue and/or need service, call for an appointment with the experts at Treat’s Heating & Cooling 360.825.0800
The Maple Valley, WA duct leakage experts at Treat’s Heating & Cooling offer high quality installation, repair, maintenance, and other heating and air conditioning services throughout Western Washington including Enumclaw, Buckley, Bonney Lake, Sumner, Puyallup, Tacoma, Auburn, Black Diamond, Covington, Maple Valley, Federal Way, Kent, & Seattle WA.