Do you know that you may have a thief hiding in your house right now? A silent thief disguised in the walls and lurking in the attic. A thief who can steal money from you the whole season—each time you turn on your air conditioning system, in fact.
This thief is leaky air ducts, and it’s a common problem found in many homes. You don’t see most of the ductwork in your house, so it’s easy to miss trouble with ducts losing air at first or to misdiagnose what’s happening. The good news is that if you know how to identify the signs of this thief, you can get rid of him easily: just call our professionals to test your ducts and seal those leaks.
How leaks in air ducts steal from you
You may imagine that a few small holes in the ducts that make up the ventilation system of your house can’t do much damage. The truth may surprise you—air leaks in the ductwork can account for a loss of up to 30% of the air moving through them.
Think of what this means when you’re running your air conditioner: you pay for the power that cools down the air moving through the ducts, and a portion of it won’t reach its destination, instead slipping through gaps, breaks, and holes. This cooled air ends up in the walls and attics, places that definitely don’t need air conditioning!
The air conditioning system will have to work harder to make up for this lost cool air, and the result is that you may pay as much as 30% more to run than AC than your should, all for no additional cooling power. (Keep in mind, if your furnace uses the same ducts, you’ll also pay more to heat the house in the winter.)
Other negative effects of leaking ducts
The extra strain put on an air conditioner not only makes it costlier to run, it causes parts to wear down faster, leading to additional repairs and a shortened system service life.
Another problem with leaking ducts is that it reduces the effectiveness of the rest of the HVAC system. The ductwork is supposed to have an airtight seal along its length so the ducts can maintain air pressure. When air pressure drops, the AC won’t perform as well, causing some rooms to develop hot spots. The leaks can also allow dust and other debris to get into the ventilation system, causing air quality to drop.
How to spot the thief
Here are signs to watch for that can warn you of leaky ducts. Call professionals to investigate when you notice…
- An unexpected rise in the cost to cool the house
- Musty and dusty odors coming from the vents
- Low airflow from room vents
- Rattling sounds from the ducts when the AC comes on
You don’t have to look far to find great duct services in Haughton, LA. The professionals at Moon’s Air offer air duct testing, duct sealing, and duct cleaning so that you get the best performance from your HVAC system. All our technicians are NATE-certified and we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Moon’s Air has provided whole-home comfort since 1971. Call us for service today—it’s good to be Mooned!