April 29, 2019
The ducts hidden within the walls, under the floors, and over your ceiling may not be something you look at every day, or even every month. But you certainly feel the effects of them every day, and you could be paying for the inefficiencies that may exist in your ducts every month!
The design of the ductwork associated with your heating and cooling system is an often overlooked part of your home comfort. Over time, poor duct design can cost you not just on your utility expenses, but also on the health of the air you breathe in your home. Green Collar Operations has been helping homeowners here in Austin, TX breathe healthier air and reduce their energy costs through smart duct design, and here’s what you need to know about why duct design is so important.
Your Ductwork Is the Lungs of Your Home
Other home performance contractors may describe ductwork as the “highway of your heating and cooling system”. But here at Green Collar, we think it's more important than that. The air that is recirculated through your home doesn’t just keep you comfortable throughout the year; it is also what you and your family breathe. Any contaminants that are allowed to infiltrate your ductwork, like bacteria, dust, mold, and allergens, can cause an increase in allergy-like symptoms, such as:
Headaches
Fatigue
Dry throat, eyes & sinuses
Coughing
These contaminants can enter your ductwork through holes and cracks that have developed after poor installation when your home was built, damage incurred during home maintenance tasks, or poor duct design.
Sizing Your Ductwork
Of all the ductwork issues we see on a daily basis, improperly sized ducts are the most common. A lot goes into determining which size ducts will be “just right,” like calculating the heating and cooling load and cubic feet of your living space combined with the output of your HVAC equipment. If your ductwork is too small, it's as if your furnace or air conditioner is breathing through a straw — it causes unnecessary strain on your equipment and can lead to increased wear and tear for a shortened life span, in addition to more unexpected and costly breakdowns.
With ductwork that is too large, the air flow in your ductwork decreases and your equipment needs to work overtime to provide your home with the conditioned air you need. This will mean high heating and cooling costs each month, in addition to the similar wear and tear issues that come with undersized ductwork.
Duct Design
The actual design of your ductwork can have a significant impact on the health of your HVAC equipment, and of the air in your home. At Green Collar, our duct design process includes making sure there are enough returns for your system, and that there are not any unnecessarily long runs or turns. This reduces the friction that occurs in your system and will prevent any future holes or gaps from forming
Trust the Duct Design & Replacement Experts!
If it’s been a while since you took a good look at the ductwork hidden in your home, its time to call in the pros and see if its time to replace your ductwork. Green Collar Operations has seen it all in our over a decade in business here in Austin, and our duct design specialists can advise you on the best course of action when it comes to getting the most out of your furnace, air conditioner, and related ductwork. If you want to breathe healthier, live more comfortably, and spend less each month to keep it that way, it all starts with smart duct design from Green Collar Operations!