Calgary’s warm summers and frigid winters place a heavy year-round workload on your heating and cooling system. Because your ducts are part of that system, regular duct maintenance is essential for keeping your whole system running safely and efficiently.
Why Your Ducts Need Regular Attention
Vibrations, frequent temperature changes, home renovations and incorrect installation all have the potential to cause your ducts to leak either through holes and tears or loose duct connections.
Leaks let heated or cooled air escape, so less of it reaches your rooms. You’re then forced to adjust your thermostat to compensate for the drop in efficiency, raising your energy bills. Sealing the leaks improves your system’s efficiency, while also reducing the risk of air contamination and moisture problems in your home.
Insulation also boosts your ductwork’s efficiency by helping to keep the air at the right temperature as it travels to your rooms. Because debris buildup and blockages impair airflow and cause pressure imbalances, keeping the ducts clear also maintains their efficiency.
How Professional Duct Maintenance Helps
A heating and cooling professional can access parts of the ductwork you can’t easily see. In addition to inspecting the ducts’ exterior, the technician can check inside the ducts for debris and blockages. This is usually done using a camera on a push rod that can snake deep into the ducts.
Loose connections can be fit together again and then sealed with mastic or foil-backed tape. Holes in sheet metal and fibreglass ducts can be patched and damaged flexduct can be replaced. An experienced technician has the knowledge required to select the most effective duct sealing or repair methods and apply them correctly. Done well, duct sealing can reduce air leakage to 5 percent or less.
Your technician can also remove blockages, advise on insulation and tell you if you’re due for a duct cleaning. All these jobs can improve your system’s energy efficiency, keep your indoor temperatures more even and cut your heating and cooling costs.
If you haven’t scheduled professional duct maintenance in a year or more, contact us at Arpi’s Industries Ltd. We serve the Calgary area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Calgary, Alberta about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Csehak Szabolcs/Shutterstock”
