Ducts in the Attic- Worst Idea Ever!

If you live in Northern Virginia, chances are good that you have ductwork running through your attic. This ductwork distributes your conditioned air throughout the house. In the summer, the sun mercilessly beats down and heats up the roof to 130 degrees or more! That heat radiates down into the attic where the ducts are located, and then also down through the ceiling. 

Let's say it's a typical mid-July day in our area, and it's 92 degrees outside. Your attic would then be a sweltering 130-140 degrees. With it feeling like an oven outside, your AC would be running and working hard to try to keep your home cool and comfortable. Now suppose the air inside your duct work is 55-57 degrees and is running through that 140 degree attic with little to no insulation in between. That's an extreme temperature difference, which created a problem. The air that you are paying to cool with the air conditioning system, travels though the ducts which are located in the blistering hot attic, and gets heated again before it hits the rooms in your home. It makes no sense! On top of this, ducts have lots of joints, gaps, and holes, resulting in air leaks. These are not only air leaks into the attic when the air handler is off, but they are powered air leaks when it's on. 

Now you know why your attic is the worst possible place to locate ducts. The air that you paid to heat or cool and expect to reach your rooms, is either lost into the attic through air leaks, or is subject to the extreme opposite air temperature of the attic. This results in your heating and cooling system working harder and for longer as it tries to keep up, costing you more money and shortening the life of your HVAC equipment. 

Comfenergy provides complete solutions for all of your ductwork problems. If you are interested in duct encapsulation and sealing, duct insulation, or duct cleaning for your home, call us today for an estimate! Make your home more comfortable, stop wasting energy, and save money. 

                                   Ductwork in an attic, insulated with spray foam.