For most Los Angeles area homeowners, the duct system is out of sight and out of mind. After all, it’s mostly hidden from view behind walls, above the ceiling and under floors. Your ductwork is a long system of connected sections that may twist, turn and bend throughout the house–and it’s likely been in place for many years. These conditions create a big chance of duct problems, leaks/blockages developing over time. Problems like rooms that are always too warm/too cool or soaring energy bills are often traced back to duct damage or poor design. Even the best cooling equipment in the world won’t perform without a well-designed and maintained duct system.
Common duct problems that may be lurking behind your walls
Air leaks:
- Leaks at connection points or twisted areas of ductwork are common.
- As time passes, duct leaks get bigger and more numerous–lots of conditioned air is wasted, never making it from your A/C to your rooms.
- Leaks make cooling the home difficult, stressing your air conditioning equipment. This leads to costly, inconvenient breakdowns and shortens cooling system life.
Blocked or restricted airflow, caused by:
- Air filter/other item sucked into ductwork: Also a fire hazard if drawn into the blower.
- Dirty air filter: Clogged with dirt, air filters also can’t protect internal A/C components from debris buildup.
- Debris-caked blower fan/ blades.
- Zone dampers: Stuck partly/completely closed.
- Collapsed/twisted flex ducts: From convoluted duct design or perhaps something falling on the duct (plaster, piping, mice, water leak).
- Blocked room grilles/registers: Rugs, furniture, draperies or excess dirt/dust are common culprits–or the original duct design included undersized (or too few) grilles.
Prevention
Prevent duct problems with annual professional inspections, done during HVAC preventive maintenance visits.
Repair
- Duct sealing ensures the system is reasonably airtight with no leaks.
- In cases of excess debris buildup inside ducts or insect infestations, duct cleaning may be recommended.
- Retrofitting can improve airflow issues caused by design flaws, often by adding, re-routing or enlarging ducts and/or registers/grilles.
Got duct problems? Contact the experts at Around the Clock Heating & Air Conditioning . Visit our website to learn more or call us.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Los Angeles, North Hollywood and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about duct problems and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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