Ac Duct Leaks In Florida Attic

Please make sure all ductwork is insulated.

Ac duct leaks in florida attic.

Leakage on the return side means hot air from your attic is getting sucked into your ductwork. Light an incense stick. And if ducts leak you could be losing as much as 30 percent of the energy your hvac equipment produces through those air leaks. Leaks are indicated when the smoke is blown away from the joint or sucked into the joint in the case of an air.

The air in your vented attic is hot and humid just like all outdoor air in florida. However an attic in pensacola florida is likely to have a humidity level closer to 100 and the risk of condensation on ductwork would then go up quite a bit. And the more air your ducts suck in from your attic the less air it needs to suck in from inside your home. The spots where two air ducts connect are common places for leaks to occur.

Because the average humidity level is 10 20 in phoenix. Any ductwork that is installed in an attic must be either wrapped with insulation or you must use flex duct which is already insulated. If you place your hand near these joints and you feel air coming out you know that there s a leak. When the hot humid attic air contacts the cold duct or the cold duct boot the moisture in the air condenses on the cold surface just like the condensation that happens on a cold can of beer.

There are two main ways to solve this problem. Sometimes the art of writing lies in thrift. If someone previously tried to seal up a leak using duct tape. Hold the stick close to the duct joint and observe the smoke.

Mark any leaks you find with a grease pencil. For additional energy savings wrap your duct. If the metal anywhere on the ductwork is exposed to ambient air from the hot attic then it will cause the ductwork to sweat leak and cause damage in your attic. With hundreds of square feet of ductwork surface area in the attic and a δt of 75 f the air coming out of the vents in your home will be significantly higher than 55 f.

Throw duct leakage into the mix and the problems are even worse. Look for duct tape. Here s a short video on how. Ducts that leak into the attic area are also a serious problem.

Duct tape is not actually meant to seal most ducts at least not as a permanent fix. Broken seals at vents coming into or going out of the home can spill conditioned air into wall cavities or under the floor. Save money on your new air conditioner or furnace.