In our last blog post we discussed how air duct leakage within homes and buildings have become one of the most prevalent issues as it relates to Indoor Air Quality. Below are just a handful of the reasons why the traditional methods of duct taping is not quite good enough in 2016.
- With new duct installation, manually sealing the ducts is solely contingent upon the quality of workmanship completed by the person performing the seal. Individual duct sections are generally assembled piece-by-piece on the ground, sealed and then lifted into place. After it’s installed, the ductwork can be tested for leakage… However, not before. If workers didn’t do a sufficient job of sealing the first time, the manual sealing process must then be repeated (now with the ducts in place) and then retested. As you can imagine, more times than not, this process generally requires numerous attempts, which can prove to be time consuming and expensive.
- With existing ducts, traditional duct sealing techniques are even more troublesome. Ask any technician their greatest issue and they will tell you… getting access to the problem areas. More times than not, ducts are hidden under ceilings, behind walls, or located in other areas nearly impossible to access. So, getting access to leaks in these areas are not only difficult but can be expensive. In many cases, we have to tear down walls and ceilings to gain access to the ducts.
Another issue we run into (usually commercial buildings) is that ducts are at times wrapped in insulation. This means we have to physically remove the the insulation prior to manually sealing the ducts with tape and/or mastic, which can be time and a bit expensive as well.
As you can see the traditional methods of finding leaks and sealing ducts are problematic to say the least.
FACT: According to a recent survey conducted by the Building Commissioning Association, 68% of building engineers find that duct leakage rates of 15% or more is a common phenomenon found in U.S. buildings today.
Read our next blog post where we discuss the latest technique being used by HVAC contractors to solve air duct leakage in 2016
About ABC Cleaning, Inc. of Orlando, FL
Serving Central Florida since 1992, ABC Cleaning, Inc. has been the acknowledged leader in air duct cleaning, chimney cleaning and dryer vent cleaning. We’re NADCA certified, we consistently invest in and have the most modern equipment and utilize the latest technology available with the best trained service technicians in all of Orlando. If you need help deciding whether to replace or repair faulty ducts, please contact us at ABC. We provide quality HVAC service to Orlando and the surrounding communities. Give us a call today. We are here to help!
