Ducts carry conditioned air from your heating and cooling system to your rooms and then again from the air returns, back through ducts to be conditioned again. As ducts age, seams and joints separate due to old tape or dried caulking. Because of this aging, leaks often appear. To prevent energy loss and keep your home comfortable and your utility bills down, seal your ducts to stop air leaks. This fairly simple action can resolve several household problems, including:

• Temperature change: Unconditioned air from attics, garages or basements mixes with conditioned air in the ducts and alters the temperature. Your system has to work harder to maintain the correct temperature for your rooms.

• Air quality: Dust, dirt and pollutants enter the gaps, flow to your rooms and dirty your rooms. Pollutants will irritate family members suffering from allergies or asthma and reduce your home’s overall indoor air quality.

• Dirty ducts: Dirt and dust accumulate in the ducts, flow back to your system and block the filters. A blocked filter makes it harder to process air to the unit, increasing your energy costs. In addition, dirt will bypass a blocked filter and collect on parts inside your unit, hindering the operation of the system. This makes cleaning or changing your filters on a regular basis an important–and simple–chore.

• Moisture: Moisture in ducts will increase the humidity in the air and make it uncomfortable for your family. The system will operate longer to remove the moisture.

• Mold: When moisture remains in the ducts and becomes excessive, mold can form inside, producing a foul odor and triggering potential health issues for family members.

• Air volume: Reduced air volume will decrease circulation to your rooms and your system will run longer to reach the set temperatures.

A professional technician will seal your ducts and correct problems created by leaky ducts. A specialist has the knowledge to identify problems, specific equipment to fix problems and the ability to increase the effectiveness of your system.

For more information on how to seal your ducts and prevent leaks, contact the friendly staff at Smoky Mountain Heating & Air, serving the Asheville communities. We are committed to offering superior service and home comfort for our customers.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about sealing your ducts and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Smoky Mountain Heating & Air services Asheville, North Carolina and the surrounding areas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!