When homeowners in Northern Virginia, Maryland, and the greater metro DC area are considering different ways to save money and make their homes more comfortable and healthier, they often think of upgrading their heating and cooling systems, or replacing their home’s insulation and air sealing. But one of the more overlooked ways to reduce energy waste and improve indoor air quality is by sealing the ductwork in your home.
Today, let’s go over the benefits of duct sealing this winter.
What Is Duct Sealing?
If your home has a forced-air HVAC system, then you have ductwork running throughout your home that cycles air heated by your furnace, boiler, or heat pump unit to the different rooms of your house and then returns it to be reheated.
Your home’s ductwork is one of the most important components of your HVAC system, as it’s responsible for distributing warm air throughout your house all winter. But in the average home, an average of 20-30% of the air moving through your ducts is lost to holes, leaks, and poor connections in the ductwork.
Duct sealing closes up these gaps and holes and helps minimize air loss in your ductwork.
The Benefits of Duct Sealing and Why You Should Seal Your Ducts
Why should you care so much about losing air that moves through your ductwork? There are a number of benefits of duct sealing, including:
1. Lower energy bills
When conditioned air leaks out of your ductwork’s supply vents before it reaches the rooms in your home, you’re wasting energy (and money) heating air that won’t actually change the temperature in your house. Properly sealed ductwork improves HVAC system efficiency, lowering high energy bills all winter (and if you have central air conditioning, all summer, too!).
2. Improved indoor air quality
Duct leaks in your crawlspace, attic, basement, and other areas in your house can introduce air pollutants into the rooms in your home, creating indoor health issues. Duct sealing helps keep the air circulating through your HVAC system healthier and safer.
3. Better indoor comfort
Air leaks in your ductwork can lead to uneven distribution of conditioned air in your home, creating some rooms that are less comfortable than others. Duct sealing helps ensure that all rooms in your house are warm and cozy for many winters to come.
4. Less safety risk from combustion appliances
Duct sealing helps you avoid hazardous combustion appliance backdrafting, which can introduce deadly carbon monoxide gas into your home while your gas furnace or boiler is running.
5. Better for the environment
The less energy you use heating or cooling air that is ultimately wasted, the more efficient your HVAC system will be, and the less greenhouse gasses your home will emit. Not only does this save you money, but it makes your home greener as well!
Home Energy Medics Is the Trusted Company for Duct Sealing Near You
Many companies in Alexandria, Arlington, Virginia, Bethesda, Maryland, or anywhere else in the greater Washington, DC metro area offer duct sealing services, but Home Energy Medics sets itself apart from the competition with our attention to customer service and our award-winning building science expertise and methodology.
We use state-of-the-art technology to assess your home’s ductwork for leaks, and then quickly and properly seal your ductwork for long-lasting results and improvements in comfort, efficiency, and indoor health. Our team prides itself on taking the time to listen to the specific issues our customers are experiencing to find the best solution for each family.