Leaky air ducts can cause a ton of trouble when it comes to keeping your house cool in summertime. In fact, it is estimated that a simple 10% loss of air from a leaking or non-sealed air duct can result in a 40% increase in energy usage for the air conditioning unit to maintain a constant temperature. And since your energy bill will be higher across the board when it’s 100-plus degrees, having this leaky duct work will only increase your monthly bill and potentially lead to more problems; including your air conditioning unit breaking down.
In order to reduce these negative risks, having an air duct leak testing and sealing is a smart financial and safety issue that any responsible home owner in Arizona should consider. But how do you know if your air ducts are leaking in the first place? Here are a few tips to look at which will help you self-diagnose whether or not your air duct system is leaking and what to do once you make this discovery.
Tests to Measure If Your Air Ducts Are Leaking
How to Notice if Air Ducts are Leaking
If you have high utility bills and difficulty keeping the house comfortable, here are a few tips to test if you have leaky air ducts.
- Take a temperature reading in each room of your house. If you notice that there are certain rooms that are hotter than others, and direct sunlight or the location of the room is not a factor, you might have an air duct leaking issue.
- Inspect your energy bills from previous months. When it was cold outside, did you notice your energy bills being higher across the board than last year? The best way to discover this is not to look at the price you paid, but the amount of energy you used each month. If that was higher than years past by 10% or more, you might have an air duct issue.
- Take a look at filters you replace. Another easy way to determine if you have air duct issues is to examine your air filters. If you see more contaminants trapped in your filters, it’s a good sign that your air duct system is leaking and allowing more debris to enter your air ducts.
What to do If You Notice these Air Duct Issues
If you’ve made the discovery that you have a potential air duct leaking issue, there are two easy steps to fix the problem.
- Contact a professional air duct repair company immediately. Many air duct repair companies provide a free inspection to ascertain whether or not your air duct system is leaking and provide honest estimates on how much the repair will cost. The longer your air duct system leaks, the worse it will get. Take a proactive approach and contact a professional to inspect your air ducts before the problem becomes expensive.
- Consider having the air ducts sealed. One of the best ways to fix the problem long term is to have your air ducts sealed with new, high-tech air duct sealants that professionals use to improve the efficiency of your entire HVAC system. Ask your local Scottsdale air duct repair company about these new types of air duct sealants.
When your air ducts are not sealed, this results in a tremendous loss of energy and cooling efficiency. The direct result is that your ac unit will work harder and your energy bills will rise. Take time to check out these simple steps to test your air ducts for leaks and if it does make sure to fix the problem before it’s too late.
