Sealing Ducts
Michael Holigan: How would you like to knock 20 to 30 % off of your utility bill and cut down your allergies at the same time? It all starts here with your ductwork. Studies show that 20 to 30% of the air you pay to heat and cool is lost through cracks and leaks in your ducts. And have you ever wondered where all of the dust in your home comes from? Those same cracks and leaks. The foam you're seeing being applied to the ductwork is called Icynene. It makes a great insulation for your home and heating and air contractors have found another way to save money with Icynene - by building a cocoon around their systems with insulating foam. Most current heating and air systems are built in the attic of homes with flexible ducts. This allows architects to design different ceiling styles and angles in your home. Installing the units upstairs also avoids taking up valuable living space inside the home. The downside to installing the units in the attic is the extreme temperatures on your systems. In the summer the temperature in your attic can hit 130 to 150 degrees. In the winter your units and ducts can be operating in below freezing temperature. Any season, some of the air you have paid to heat and cool is being lost to the exterior air surrounding your ducts. Most ductwork has a life span of 12 to 15 years before it starts breaking and cracking up. Plus, there is a problem of the ducts not being installed properly and leaking from day one. By encapsulating the ducts in Icynene foam you prevent leaks and cracks for 75 to 80 years, plus you save money over replacing the ducts. Well, you own a heating and air conditioning company, what does it cost to go in and replace duct work?
Tim Rusher: It's about double the cost of foaming in a duct system.
MH: And there is an even better reason for encapsulating your ducts in foam if you're an allergy sufferer. By sealing up your ducts you stop most of the dust and allergenics from entering your home. What happens if it's on the return side of the vent? Can you actually be sucking in dirty air?
TR: Yes you can. And for those people who suffer from allergies or asthma or any other upper respiratory ailment it's going to be very aggravating to them and they may not even have any idea of where that irritation's coming from.
MH: If you want to lower your monthly utility bill and your sneezing give Icynene a try. To encapsulate the ducts in an average home runs about $800.00. You should recover your investment in the first 12 to 24 months. If you're not ready to foam your ducts, but would like to stop some leaks, Steve Easley and Super Handyman Al Carrell have a great way to get started.
Al Carrell: You may already be aware that one of the most common places to lose energy is through gas where the connections are made in your heating and air conditioning duct system. Energy consultant, Steve Easley, has a suggestion for making a tightly sealed connection. And you're going to show us how to do that properly.
Steve Easley: That's right. As a matter of fact, this is a typical connection in an average home and about 20 to 30 cents out of every dollar that people spend on heating and cooling is lost through leaks in duct work, just like right here. So what we're going to do is demonstrate how a heating contractor can actually solve those problems by using mastic sealant and some duct ties to get a good tight solid connection that doesn't leak.
AC: Let's do it.
SE: Well, what we do is, we take some mastic sealant and we just kind of brush that on there. Put the mastic on there, a liberal application of mastic sealant.
AC: Now, we need to slip this on here. Do we want to slide it all the way down Steve?
SE: Absolutely. Just slide that all the way over. Real important that the inner lining of this duct work actually goes all the way up against the edge of this boot.
AC: Like it is right now.
SE: Absolutely. It's not a bad idea to put some more mastic on there. Don't be afraid to use a liberal coating of this mastic sealant. Now, this product is really neat in the fact that it's elastimeric, which it basically means that it actually will expand and contract with the duct work and so over time it won't crack or lose it's seal. This is called a flexible duct tie and what we do is we're going to wrap this around the inner lining of the duct. We're going to push this through like this and pull it tight. We're going to take our clamping tool and you always want to use one of these because this makes sure it's going to be plenty good and tight. And you pull it up good and tight and then you use this device here and it snaps it off. The next thing we'll do is we'll pull that insulation over the top of the duct, pull the foil liner over that. In hot attics it's always a great idea to use a foil cover insulation in flex ducts because it'll reflect about 90% of the heat from the hot summer sun that radiates from the roof deck into the attic. Then we'll use this, another flexible duct tie. The color really doesn't matter that it's different. They come in different colors. Wrap this around the foil insulation. Make sure it's pushed down good on the boot. Pull it up tight. What you have is a good solid connection that's not going to come loose in a few years.
AC: And that means you're going to save money year after year.
Contact:
Icynene
800-758-7325
Episode 55 1997 - 98 Season
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