Most people picture ductwork as a few tunnels burrowed away in a home. However, ductwork is, in actuality, much more than that: It’s a finely tuned system designed to distribute cool air evenly around your home. Air distribution (also known as ventilation) is a harder job than it may initially sound, as proper duct design will take into account the size of rooms, how many floors the home has, and much more. In the HVAC industry, we use the terms heating load and cooling loads to describe the amount of energy it takes to heat/cool a given space.

All of this means that if the ductwork isn’t working (or designed) properly, cold air from your air conditioner won’t get where it needs to go. Your friendly neighborhood contractor can examine your ductwork to see if that is the culprit causing your discomfort.

Duct Design

A contractor will look at the overall design of the ductwork and ensure that there is nothing wrong with the underlying blueprint. Moving air on a guided path through ducts needs to be done efficiently. Air may seem weightless and easy to push around, but ventilation is more like a water pipe than a wire that can snake in every direction. Too many turns, too small of duct, or a number of other causes can slow cold air from the air conditioner, meaning less of it reaches its intended target.

Fans and Filters

A specialized indoor fan (called the blower) is responsible for providing the power to circulate air through the ducts, and filters help catch large impurities to keep the air clean. If the fan doesn’t properly match the size of the duct, or either have been installed incorrectly, the movement of air through your home (and thus your comfort) can be affected.

Similarly, if an air filter is not properly chosen, issues can arise. Filters slow down air passing through them, which is not a problem when the filter is correctly matched to the ductwork and blower. But if not, ventilation can suffer.

Insulation, Registers, and Grilles

It makes sense that insulation will affect the quality of your ductwork. If ducts are not wrapped properly, more heated/cooled air will be lost before the air reaches the proper target.

Supply grills, also, are more than just where the air leaves a duct system. If not sized and installed correctly, they can produce unwanted noise, and if grilles are blocked (putting a couch in front of one, for example), this will affect ventilation and cooling negatively.

Ductwork and the Contractor

Believe it or not, there is even more to what makes duct work (no pun intended). Ducts can leak, have holes, be damaged, not seal together correctly, and more. A qualified HVAC contractor will be able to examine your system (air conditioner, furnace, and ductwork) and make sure all are in proper order. We’re the duct experts so that you don’t need to be.