Aging ductwork is an unfortunate reality for many homes in the Greater Kansas City area. Ductwork that is old and leaky will reduce your HVAC system’s efficiency and increase utility bills. Your air ducts act as the home’s lungs by carrying stale air into central HVAC equipment in order to be filtered, and then heated or cooled. Once the air is conditioned, a blower or air handler sends it via ductwork to your home’s rooms. Aging and defective ductwork will cause inefficient air supply and delivery. This leads to higher energy bills, unhealthy indoor air quality, lower system efficiency and uneven household temperatures.

To help decide whether your ductwork may need to be replaced, consider the following tests:

• Evaluate your ductwork’s age. When homes are initially constructed, some building contractors will design and install the necessary ductwork system. This often results in poorly designed systems that with air ducts constructed of lower-grade materials. Homeowners should be forewarned that the joints, seals and seams in their newly built homes may begin deteriorating within 10 years after construction.
• Inspect your ductwork. Have a professional HVAC technician visually inspect as many exposed air duct segments as possible. While much of the duct network is hidden behind walls and other impediments, inspecting exposed portions will allow the technician to gauge the general condition of your overall system. He should pay special note to any dust that appears to radiate around seams, signs of rust and corrosion, and the condition of any applied sealing compounds.
• Check house airflow. Go into your home’s rooms to check the general flow of air. Rooms with poor airflow may be connected to failing ductwork. Any temperature variances may be caused by duct leaks or blockages.
• The duct blower test. This test uses pressurization to find leaks that are compromising the performance of your ductwork. This test requires special tools and expertise, and should be undertaken by an experienced HVAC professional.

To learn more about aging ductwork, or to speak with a contractor about your home’s air duct system, please contact us at Overland Park Heating & Cooling, Inc.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Overland Park, Kansas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). 

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