Sealing Ducts

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Ducts are the tubes in your house that carry the heated or cooled air around your home. Your heaters and air conditioners work hard to regulate the temperature of this air, so if any is wasted it will increase your carbon footprint and contribute to global warming.

Poorly sealed ducts will lose about 20% of the air that goes through them, using up 20% more energy to compensate for that loss, an unnecessary addition to your carbon footprint.

It can be hard to find leaks in your ducts that are concealed in the wall, and it is often best to hire a contractor to do this. But for those ducts that you can see, fixing the leaks is surprisingly easy. Despite its name, you should not use duct tape for this, as it won’t last very long. Rather, you should get some duct sealant, also known as duct mastic. This can easily be applied to leaks in your ducts, thus reducing your energy use and carbon footprint almost instantly.

For ducts that go through areas of your house with more extreme temperatures, like attics, garages, and crawl spaces, it can be helpful to insulate your ducts so the air inside them doesn’t lose its temperature.

While inspecting your air ducts, have a quick look at your air filters. If they look dirty, it is probably time to change them, which will improve air circulation removing some stress from your heating and cooling systems. As a general rule of thumb, you should change your air filter at least every three months.

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