Ductwork Issues That Can Obstruct Airflow and Impact HVAC Efficiency

Ductwork Issues That Can Obstruct Airflow and Impact HVAC Efficiency

Sep 17, 2013
outside-of-home

Your HVAC system’s ductwork plays a vital role in the overall efficiency and performance of your cooling or heating system. There are numerous problems that may occur in and with your ducts. Many of them are common ductwork issues that professionals are quite familiar with.

You won’t want to leave any of these issues untreated for long, though. If you do, your system won’t operate efficiently, raising energy costs and causing you to spend more money. Here are a few things to look for:

One of the most common issues with A/C ducts are obstructions. One way an obstruction happens, is when something gets lodged inside the duct, either falling insulation or even debris from vermin and insects that get in the ducts. Your air filter is another example of something that may get lodged in a duct.

Lodged items aren’t the only way you could have an obstruction, however. If your fire damper or zone damper gets stuck in the closed or partially closed position, this will impede airflow.

Another of several ductwork issues that may pop up is a faulty duct section. Sometimes, a duct may collapse, either because of poor craftsmanship or because of something falling on it. When this happens, the airflow will be reduced to the corresponding vent because air won’t be able to pass through as usual.

Leaks can also occur in ducts. This may happen for a variety of reasons. The main reason, though, is because of aging ductwork. When they’re installed, some of the joints may have been joined together by an adhesive without metals screws, and once it starts to wear down, it will lose its adhesiveness. When leaks develop, the air can escape into unconditioned areas where it’s not doing you any good. Or dirty air from these areas can infiltrate your ducts, and get circulated in hour home.

If you notice that your HVAC system isn’t cooling or heating properly, or your energy bills seem higher than they’ve been in the past, it may be a good idea to contact a professional, licensed HVAC company to get your system checked out. If you do have any leaks or obstructions in your ductwork, you should have them fixed. For more information about ducts, or home comfort in general, please contact us at Rinaldi’s Energy Solutions today. We’ve been providing quality HVAC services to Central Florida since 1969.

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 issues and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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