Your ducts are the “lungs” of your home – don’t overlook their importance.
It’s common to take certain aspects of the home for granted. Take your home’s ductwork and ventilation system, for example. Ductwork allows the warm air generated by your home heating system to move from room to room, yet most people go through their day without even taking note of this. The issue with this is that problems associated with ventilation systems and duct design do happen, and they can have a marked effect on home performance.
Understanding Your Ventilation System
It helps to have a clear understanding of your ventilation system and how it operates when learning about the common issues that can affect its performance. Your heating system creates warm air, which then travels through a series of ducts to reach its final destination. When things work properly, each room in your home is comfortable thanks to the conditioned air ending up where it’s supposed to. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case with old or poorly-designed ductwork.
If your ventilation system suffers from leaks or other types of damage, conditioned air will be lost, and your heating system will have to work harder than it’s supposed to in order to keep up. As you might expect, this can lead to a drop in performance and decreased systems longevity.
Ductwork Issues to Watch Out For
Ductwork issues are certainly problematic, and they’re also quite common. Here are just a few that tend to affect California homeowners.
- Cracks and leaks — Cracks and leaks can form over time, especially if you live in an old home. The solution can be found in either sealing the cracked ducts or modifying your ductwork.
- Poorly designed ventilation systems — No matter how well you maintain your ductwork, you can’t fix a poor initial design. In this case, replacing your ductwork altogether may be the key for achieving true energy efficiency.
- Dirt, dust, mold and contaminants — Over time, dust, dirt, mold and other contaminants can find their way into your ductwork. Duct cleaning can be the solution here.