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Air duct sealing is another crucial part of the process of maintaining a safe, effective, and efficient HVAC system. Unfortunately, it often flies under the radar.
Many people don’t even think about getting their air ducts resealed, overlooking an important aspect of what makes a high-functioning HVAC system worth it. People should consider hiring a duct sealing service in a few different scenarios:
- After HVAC systems installed
- They inherit an old HVAC system in a new house
- As a part of regular HVAC maintenance
If any of those situations apply to your home, or you simply don’t know whether you need your air ducts sealed, read on to find out exactly why it’s so important, and why you shouldn’t put it off any longer.
At Filterbuy LOCAL, we want to educate everyone about the critical components of maintaining a healthy home. In addition to helping with air duct sealing, Filterbuy LOCAL offers premium duct cleaning and professional dryer vent cleaning services, which go hand-in-hand with a holistic indoor air solution.
We’ve broken down the top 8 reasons why air duct sealing is important, in the top three categories: energy usage, safety, and financial.
Energy Consumption Benefits
Well-sealed air ducts have the surprising benefit of lowering energy consumption. As a result, conditioned air will reach the intended room, not leak into your attic and force your HVAC system to work harder than it should. Below are the benefits of using less energy.
1. Save Money on Energy Bills
We could all stand to save some money on energy bills, especially when global energy is so unpredictable. When your air ducts are leaky, they can cost you, big time.
It’s been found that your cooling and heating system efficiency can be reduced by as much as 20 percent, just because of those tiny leaks that you can’t even see. Imagine getting that money back into your pocket for more home improvement projects, your savings, or even something fun– cruise, anyone?
No matter what you do with it, the savings you earn from having an efficient, well-sealed air duct system will put a smile on your face.
2. Rely Less on Overwhelmed Power Grids
By lowering your energy usage, you’re lowering your bills in the short term, and you’re setting yourself up to be able to configure independent energy solutions in the long term. The lower your energy usage, the longer your generator will last in the event of a storm, for example.
Extreme weather events happen, and the grid goes down. What happened in the Texas energy grid failure in February 2021 could easily happen somewhere else. The truth of the matter is that our energy infrastructure is aging, and people are figuring out how to be less reliant on it.
Sealing your air ducts is a small but meaningful step toward lowering your energy consumption, and being in control of your own energy needs.
3. Live Eco Consciously for the Next Generation
A decrease in the energy usage of your home means a decrease in your production of air pollution. According to the EIA, the average American home spends over half of their energy usage on air heating and cooling. Imagine if everyone were able to increase their system efficiency and lower their energy usage.
By taking responsibility for your own home’s energy usage, you’re setting a good example to your neighbors, and helping work towards a cleaner, healthier planet for our children and grandchildren.
Recycling your cans is not enough. Making moves towards lowering your personal energy expenditure is truly the kind of small step that could make a world of difference for future generations.
Safety Benefits
Your home is your shelter from the outside world, the oasis where you and your family spend the majority of your time. Nothing is more important than feeling (and actually being) safe and healthy within the four walls of your home. It’s hard to rest easy at night if your home is making you feel sick.
There are a couple of extremely important safety benefits to air duct sealing that are all-too-often forgotten.
4. Prevent Backdrafting of Noxious Gasses
This is a scary one.
The appliances that you rely on, like water heaters, clothes dryers, and furnaces release gasses through their ventilation systems during normal operation. The combustion by-products include carbon monoxide, carbon, and sulfur dioxide, in addition to heat, water vapor, and excess air.
If your air ducts are not properly sealed, you are at risk of these noxious gasses being brought into your home via “backdrafts,” instead of being safely eliminated.
One of the most important benefits of a properly functioning HVAC system is high indoor air quality. Leaving your air duct sealing as a low priority puts the entire home at risk.
5. Keep Pests Out, Where They Belong
One thing about creepy crawlies– they just love creepy crawling where they don’t belong! Even tiny leaks in your air duct seal can seem like an open invitation to insects that are not only gross but can be dangerous to the health of your home, your pets, and your family.
A good air duct seal prevents insects from entering and keeps them out.
6. Improve and Protect Indoor Air Quality
The backdraft of combustible gasses is not the only threat to indoor air quality that arises from poorly sealed ducts.
Other pollutants from within and outside of your home can linger and lower your indoor air quality. When your air ducts are poorly sealed, fumes from cleaning chemicals, garden chemicals, dust, insulation particles, and other outdoor pollutants can sneak into your duct system through leaking seals.
We cannot overstate the importance of indoor air quality in your home. It’s the place where you spend the most time, where you breathe deeply as you sleep. Poor indoor air quality can have disastrous consequences for your health, including the following:
- Eye, nose, throat irritations
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Headache
- Sinus congestion
- Shortness of breath
- Coughing and sneezing
Not only are these symptoms bad enough, but as long as the indoor air pollution continues, so do they. It’s so important to be able to sleep at night knowing that your home isn’t making you sick.
While there are many other actions needed in order to make certain you’re doing everything you can for the best-possible indoor air quality, an air duct seal is as good a place as any to start.
Financial Benefits
7. Inject Stability Into Your Energy Bills
As we’ve already learned, increasing the efficiency of your home cooling and heating systems will lower your energy expenditure, which will lower your energy bills. While lower bills are ideal, stable bills can be just as important.
It’s hard to properly budget when your energy bills are fluctuating. Sealing your air ducts and having your home energy usage on an even keel will help your bills to be more predictable over time.
8. Preserve Your Valuables
In addition to the money you can save on your energy bills, air duct sealing can help you financially in other, possibly unexpected ways.
Proper sealing will help control the humidity of your home, which also has health ramifications. But uncontrolled indoor humidity can also wreak havoc on many aspects of your home– the appliances, antiques, books, and more can all be damaged or even destroyed by humidity run amok.
By hiring a duct sealing service, you are helping to maintain a stable environment in which your precious and expensive items can thrive. You paid good money for what you own – don’t let leaky air ducts take it all away from you.
9. Ensure Expensive Appliances Are in Working Order
Along the same lines, well-sealed air ducts help to ensure that the expensive connected appliances are working correctly. They aren’t leaking noxious gasses into your home and they’re not working harder than they have to.
According to Energy Star, when it’s time for an upgrade, having a well-functioning air duct system that already works efficiently can also make it possible for you to upgrade into even more efficient, lower-cost appliances that provide even better dehumidification than your current appliances.
10. Preserve Your Home’s Value
Probably the most expensive consequence of poorly sealed air ducts is that of the damage that can be done to your home as a whole. Uncontrolled humidity, chemical pollutants, leaking water vapors, heating or cooling; they can all have an impact on your home’s infrastructure over time.
We all know that a damp, poorly ventilated space can encourage microbial growth. While you may not notice on a day to day basis if your home’s air ducts are poorly sealed, your home’s structural integrity can be degraded every day.
If you care about the long-term value of your home, air duct sealing is definitely worth it.
11. Keep Your Home a Haven
Overall, air duct sealing is good for your home financially, and for safety and energy reasons.
But just as important is the overall comfort you should feel in your own home. Air duct sealing prevents the symptoms of poorly performing ducts:
- High utility bills, especially in summer and winter
- Some rooms are hard to keep at a comfortable temperature
- Some rooms are stuffy and uncomfortable
Commonly, these symptoms occur in homes where the ducts are out of sight, or when you find tangled or kinked ducts if your ducts are accessible to you.
Your home is your place to relax, be comfortable, and be yourself. It’s difficult to be comfortable when your HVAC system is not working to its optimum potential, allowing for indoor air pollution and poor airflow.
In addition to helping with air duct sealing, Filterbuy LOCAL offers premium duct cleaning and professional dryer vent cleaning services, which go hand-in-hand with a holistic indoor air solution.
Ready to Seal Your Air Ducts?
If you’re looking for a relatively simple fix that will make a big difference for your home heating and cooling system, air duct sealing is just the ticket. It’s a quick and easy process, and it is well worth the peace of mind that it provides.
If you have any questions about the process of air duct sealing, or would like to know more about how to keep your home heating and cooling system working in tip-top condition, the experts at Filterbuy LOCAL are always here to help. Known for friendly, professional, knowledgeable service, they will be more than happy to help point you in the right direction.
Filterbuy LOCAL experts are passionate about helping families live in comfortable, safe homes. Your home is your most precious possession, and it is well worth protecting!
