Derek Cole explains why new ductwork needs testing and sealing. North Carolina allows about 10% leakage, and aerosol-based sealing finds and fills the gaps. Metal ductwork is safer than duct-board or fiberglass.
Questions this episode answers
A duct test (also called a 'duct blaster').
About 5–10% (speaker uses 10% as a round example).
An aerosol/pressure-based duct sealing process (machine-controlled aerosol that seals leaks by pressure).
Duct board/fiberglass (described as 'bad for your lungs').
One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning; Derek Cole.
This Star spotlight features Derek Cole of one hour heating and air conditioning. Today, Derek explains why it's so important to properly seal your new ductwork. Derek, welcome back. Why is it so important for us to seal new ductwork? I mean, it's new ductwork. And are there regulations or specifications that are unique to North Carolina?
Anytime in this state, you install a new duct system, you have to do. And Caroline knows this because she's now doing permits and do what's called a duct test or a duct blaster, as we call it. You have to measure how much leakage is in that new duct system. And there is a point, depending on the city, of the municipality as to what they want to see. 5, 10% of leakage that they want. So let's go with the round number. I say it's 10% leakage. So you're leaking 10% of the energy you're paying for out of that new duct system. So if you seal it, you can get down to zero, right? So if you get to zero, that's obviously more efficient than losing 10, right? So that is why you want to seal the new duct system. Now, in this area, we see a lot of duct board, fiberglass duct system. Again, that is bad for your lungs, bad for your health. So we go back and we install metal duct. That way you're not breathing in the fiberglass any longer. The downside to installing that metal duct is that you have joints. And no matter how much you try to seal it manually on the way there, you seal it, seal the joints on the outside with mastic, you seal it up with tape, you seal it up with insulation. You seal that up on top of the masking tape. Still, you're at 10% leakage because there is no way a human being can actually seal all the places that air flows. Now, with duct sealing, with air seal, it works on pressure. There is not. It's an aerosol. There's not a human being, you know, putting mastic and painting it on the little joints. No, it's a machine. It's all controlled by this aerosol, aerosol spray. It's working on pressure and it's filling the holes as it finds the leaks.
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