Efficient air circulation is essential for maintaining a comfortable indoor living space. Your home air system provides warmth and coolness, even under the most extreme weather conditions, and your ducts are vital to this process. HVAC ducting isn’t just for channeling air, however. It also plays a significant role in how much energy your system consumes. In the following sections, well explore how air ducts work and why they should matter to you as a Denver-area homeowner.
Why Do Your Home Air Ducts Matter?
Home air ducts are not unlike the breathing system in your body. Theyre vital for circulating air throughout your entire indoor living space, transporting conditioned air to every room in order to create a consistent and comfortable environment. The air itself comes from your HVAC system, which conditions air before dispersing it throughout the house via your ducting system.
Once the air from your HVAC system sufficiently modifies your home’s temperature, it will then recirculate air back through the ducts for another round of heating and cooling. Performing this job seamlessly, however, depends on the health of your HVAC heating and cooling system and the condition of its associated air ducts.
If your ducts become blocked with obstructions and leaks that disperse air outdoors or into undesirable areas of your home, such as behind walls, then your system won’t work as efficiently as it should. In addition to this, your HVAC system will likely begin showing signs of strain, and its components will wear more quickly, shortening its lifespan.
Staying aware of your HVAC system’s health and air duct functionality will help ensure you maintain an optimally functioning home air system. Moreover, you can expect comfortable, evenly regulated indoor air temperatures while keeping your energy bills in check.
Common Ductwork Air Flow Issues
There are several factors that influence proper airflow throughout your home. You can trace virtually all of them to the quality of your original ductwork and its present condition.
To begin with, the size and design of your ductwork should align with your homes layout and HVAC system capacity. If these elements dont correspond or the job was not completed correctly at the outset, this can lead to inefficient airflow.
When air isnt moving through your ducts because of a mismatched system, this puts unnecessary strain on your indoor air system. This will not only impact the comfort in your home, but it will also be less efficient from an energy standpoint and may even instigate an early HVAC system failure.
With this in mind, your ducting’s original installation is crucial to maintaining a long-lasting and efficient heating and cooling system. If the channels are not streamlined and take too many twists and turns throughout your home, this poor routing often results in a less-than-efficient air system.
Blockages and leaks are both additional key factors that can lead to inefficient indoor heating and cooling. If your air system is riddled with leaks and blockages that significantly hamper airflow, then this impacts indoor air quality and comfort. Youll also find that your energy bills are higher, even though the rates havent increased.
What causes leaks and obstructions in your air ducts? Dust build-up and debris accumulate in your air ducts over time. Age and the general laws of gravity cause leaks simply by drawing your ductwork to the ground. Also, it is not uncommon for living creatures to enter your air ducts and cause obstruction by building nests or altering a critical support element that creates a leak in the duct network.
Diagnosing Problems With Your Air Duct System
Air ducts are easy to forget about. Theyre not sitting there in plain view. Nevertheless, they are vital to a properly functioning home air system. So, how can you can you tell if might be having issues with your air ducts?
Typically, if your air ducts arent working as they should, the air in your home will feel stagnant, you might smell unpleasant odors, and your energy bill will be unexpectedly high. Under these circumstances, its time to consult with an HVAC professional. We at Coffman & Company specialize in diagnosing and optimizing indoor air for Denver and Aurora homeowners.
Whether it involves maintenance, comprehensive repair, strategic upgrade, or installation, the indoor air quality experts at Coffman & Company can help. In addition to indoor air services, we can also assist you with your water and gas piping. Connect with us now for a free consultation!
