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HVAC ducts are an essential component of your home’s heating and cooling system. It distributes conditioned air throughout your home. And just like other HVAC components, it also experiences wear and tear due to harsh weather and fluctuating PA temperatures. When you experience frequent hot and cold snaps or rooms that never feel comfortable, the issue is likely to be within your ductwork.
There are two most common options to restore functional ductwork: redesign or repair. In this blog, we will take a look at these two options and when each of them makes sense.
Pennsylvania air is notoriously humid. When this moist air comes in contact with the metal ducts in the attic, basements, or crawlspace, it promotes mold and mildew growth inside. At one end, it spreads unpleasant odors in the entire house, and at the other end, it damages the ducts, causing leaks and holes. Apart from humidity, building style is also the culprit. Most of the PA homes are built according to traditional architectural styles and symmetry. Their ductwork is also covered with temporary insulation such as tape, paper, etc. This temporary insulation doesn't survive the weather stress and causes duct problems.
Temperature swings, mistakes in ductwork installation, and low-quality materials can all contribute to early wear and tear of the ducts.
How will you identify that the issue is with your HVAC ducts and not with something else? Technicians at Lehigh HVAC identified the following signs as red flags that your HVAC ducts are not doing the right job.
Don’t make a blind decision. Understand the complication and choose the option that is right to resolve your problem. Here are a few questions to ask.
Identify how many joints are leaking and the size of the leaks. Additionally, figure out if only a few joints in a single run have issues or if multiple trunks are collapsed.
Check if the supply and return paths actually match the needs of the home and the type of equipment. If ductwork is not according to the space's symmetry, it could be a big reason that causes duct failure.
Check if the material used in the current ductwork is of good quality and genuinely supports the equipment operations. The same is for insulation materials. If insulation materials are of lower quality, they don’t sufficiently support ducts.
Duct repair is generally the right choice when the problem is small, limited to a small portion only, or when the flex is in a good position, only requiring extra support. Sometimes, both the flex and insulation are in good condition, and the issue is due to the placement of some household appliances and furniture items blocking the air pathway from the vents. Before booking a repair service, having a professional HVAC inspection is a great choice.
Ductwork redesign is just an antagonist to ductwork repairs. It is required when repairs fail to yield satisfactory results or technicians don’t predict a desired outcome from the repairs. For example, if there is extensive damage in multiple sections of the ductwork, a redesign is required. The same happens when insulation is broken in many portions and is not in a position to support the ducts.
Remember! Duct design is the process of planning and engineering the ducts according to your PA home. After it, there comes the installation or replacement phase, where this planning is executed for the real project.
Not sure if your current HVAC ducts are in the right condition? Schedule an onsite inspection where our certified technicians visit your site and inspect the ducts. If some issues are found, we can fix them or redesign your complete ducts at market-competitive rates.
Call 484-961-7044 for discussions and appointments.
