Annual furnace maintenance is relatively easy to remember whereas ductwork tends to be overlooked. Here are some ways to recognize whether or not your heating system has tight ducts:
Unevenly Heated Rooms
- Air not be circulating properly through ductwork. Make sure air can flow freely around your registers. Rearranging your furniture may solve your problems.
- Look into registers for accumulated debris. You may be able to clean them by hand or may a vacuum cleaner.
- Tight ducts transport heated air through your home, so leaky sections of ductwork prevents warmth from arriving where it needs to go.
Noisy Ductwork
- Can you hear your registers banging? Tight ducts do not shift, however, loose or broken sections of ductwork create a great deal of noise.
- Do you hear noises from the registers? Air forced through tight spaces can make a wheezing noise. Also, you may hear this if ductwork is not large enough to properly heat your home.
Increased Heat Costs
- Unexpected, sharp increases in your heating bill can also be a sign of leaky ducts. You may even notice that your house is cooler than usual. Under normal circumstances, the furnace works until the area around the thermostat reaches the desired temperature, at which point it stops. Losing the heated air prevents the thermostat from rising, so the furnace is unable to stop running.
While it would seem that repairing your ducts yourself would be a cost effective choice, the reality is that it is likely to cost more in the long run. Without proper training and equipment, repairs will not be effective or durable. Once you factor in the increased heat bill and potential repairs to your furnace, hiring an experienced technician generally saves money. They will use professional quality supplies to repair and tightly seal your ducts, including mastic, fiberglass and sheet metal.
Indianapolis consumers have been relying on Mowery Heating, Cooling and Plumbing’s trusted service for nearly 30 years. If you do not know if you have tight ducts, call us for assistance today.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Brownsburg, Indiana and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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