Improve Your Home Performance with Air Duct Repair
One of the simplest ways to improve your home's heating and cooling performance is by performing air duct repair. In other words, sealing air leaks around your air ducts, as well as your windows and doors, is often the best solution to improving temperature. Another benefit to air duct repair includes better indoor air quality. If you or your family members experience indoor allergies, asthma or have health issues with excessive dust, repairing ductwork could improve your home's comfort and overall health.
Damaged Ductwork
Over time, the walls within your home can begin to pull away from the window and door frames, leaving gaps where air can pass through. In areas with extreme weather events, like severe storms, hurricanes and high winds, can impact your HVAC system and, thus, ductwork.
When this happens, it allows warm air to seep in on hot summer days, canceling out your AC while at the same time making way for cool, crisp air to blow through during the fall and winter months. If you've ever experienced a drafty room on a cold winter day or can't seem to cool down a specific area of your home, you know how frustrating it can be to deal with poor ductwork.
Some common signs of problematic ductwork include:
- Uninsulated ducts in unconditioned spaces
- Disconnected, torn or damaged ducts
- Blind-alley ducts
- Inadequate return-side ductwork
- Other evidence of supply and return-side leakage
When air is constantly heating and cooling your ducts, seals can become damaged or disconnected because of constant expansion and contraction. This can affect the efficiency of your HVAC system, causing it to work harder and run longer.
How to Improve Home Performance
If you find your home has high energy bills, excessive drafts and dust or other issues you can't quite pin down, there's a good chance your ductwork needs repairs. Fortunately, there are a handful of ways to improve your home's overall performance while also enhancing your overall comfort (and finances!).
At Bradley Mechanical, we offer a variety of home performance tests to identify the issues rather than simply guess. We'll evaluate your HVAC equipment, insulation, air leakage and more while providing detailed reports to explain our findings.
Ductwork Repair
It is estimated the average home loses 20-30% of conditioned air through holes, leaks and improperly installed ductwork. If your ducts are poorly sealed or insulated, it could be costing you a lot in energy bills. It can also create air quality problems, clog your air filters faster and create hot and cold spots throughout your home.
Uninsulated ducts in unconditioned spaces, such as your crawlspace, attic or basement, can quickly acquire issues. Similarly, disconnected, torn, and damaged ducts will result in poor home performance. Repairing ductwork leaks with the help of a professional technician, including those at Bradley Mechanical, can provide a fast and impressive solution. With our patented Aeroseal technology, we create an air-tight barrier along your ductwork to better control airflow.
Windows and Doors
Depending on the size of the gap or crack, you will want to use weatherproof caulk or expandable foam spray to fill in air leaks. Self-adhesive foam weather stripping is also a simple and cheap method to seal around loose window sashes and doors. All of these items can be found at any local hardware or box store.
However, if the leaks seem to be far and wide around your home, it may be more beneficial to call in a professional to seal up the issues once and for all. Your home is something worth investing in, so if you find that your windows and doors could benefit from sealing, give us a call.
Keep the Outdoors Out
Ahead of the chilly winter months, now is the best time to schedule ductwork repair and sealing. Keep the cold air out and warm air in by repairing your ductwork this fall. For decades, Bradley Mechanical has served Richmond and Central Virginia's heating and cooling needs. We offer many home performance services, including duct sealing and cleaning, insulation installation and crawlspace sealing.
Hire one of our professional technicians to seal your ducts with our patented Aeroseal technology. Unlike other sealants, it can reach ductwork that runs between floors and inaccessible spaces, reducing leakage to around 5% or less. Call us today to schedule your home performance evaluation and start saving money on your next energy bill.
