The Ductwork in Your Orlando Home: Little Leaks, Big Problems

When your ductwork leaks, your home comfort, air quality and budget take a hit. Unfortunately, duct systems are notorious for leakage problems, as the University of Florida points out in a recent study.

Since most ducts aren’t readily visible to homeowners and the damage they do to your home comfort slowly adds up, you may never make the connection.

You might just continue paying ever-higher energy bills, while your Orlando area home never really seems to cool off in summer like it once did. You and your family may also begin to have more allergy symptoms, headaches, excessive fatigue and lingering cold viruses, without realizing that the duct system may be at fault.

Duct leaks are notorious for increasing your home’s cooling and heating loads, costing you money due to loss of conditioned air through them. Contact your HVAC professional for a duct inspection to repair or avoid the following problems.

Ductwork Leaks and Other Common Issues

• Leaky duct connections – Connections may loosen over time, due to expansion/contraction from temperature/weather changes, home shifting and settling, rodent infestations, etc.
• Leaking supply/return ducts – These ducts bring conditioned air from your air conditioner or furnace to your rooms or return it to the equipment. Leaks in either duct line will result in energy loss.
• Furniture, drapes or rugs blocking registers – Check often!
• Leakage at furnace and air filter slots – Occurs if the air filter isn’t seated properly or sized properly when replaced.
• Duct tape failure – Standard duct tape dries out over time.
• Fallen or damaged/moist duct insulation – Air leaks can push insulation out of the way, and/or the passage of time can cause it to fall, become dirty, damaged or moist.
• Kinks or twisted ducts restricting airflow – Bad duct design may be the issue, when duct runs are too long or become partially crushed and twisted over time.
• Inadequate return grilles – Some homes were built with too few return grilles. There are ways to compensate for this problem, though ideally a home should be designed with a return register in nearly every room.

You’ll be surprised what correcting ductwork leaks and common problems can do to improve your indoor air quality, comfort and energy bills. Contact the duct experts at Rinaldi’s Energy Solutions for assistance or visit our website for valuable HVAC advice.

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

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