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An enormous waste of energy occurs when cooled air escapes
from supply ducts or when hot attic air leaks into return
ducts.
Recent studies indicate that 10% to 30% of
the conditioned air in an average central air conditioning
system escapes from the ducts.
Sealing and Insulating Air Ducts
For central air conditioning to be efficient,
ducts must be airtight. Hiring a competent professional service
technician to detect and correct duct leaks is a good investment,
since leaky ducts may be difficult to find without experience
and test equipment. Ducts must be sealed with duct "mastic."
The old standby of duct tape is ineffective for sealing ducts.
Obstructions can impair the efficiency of
a duct system almost as much as leaks. You should be careful
not to obstruct the flow of air from supply or return registers
with furniture, drapes, or tightly fitted interior doors.
Dirty filters and clogged evaporator coils can also be major
obstructions to air flow.
The large temperature difference between
attics and ducts makes heat conduction through ducts almost
as big a problem as air leakage and obstructions. Ducts in
attics should be insulated heavily in addition to being made
airtight.
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