Air Ducts in Attic? Well, there are some Concerns.

Where is the worst possible place for a duct system?   An Attic…                

Can we make it a little better?     Yes … read on!

  Ok, so 90% of us have our systems in the attic, I do; but I’ve made my situation a lot better. Unfortunately, attic ducts’ goes with the local territory for “slab on grade” construction.  Basements & crawl spaces are rare or limited in this climate. This is just a fact of living in the Pensacola / Coastal Florida area; so what do we do?  Here’s our recommendation

1) Reduce the Temp in the attic.   DO NOT USE AN ATTIC FAN; a fan will just suck some of the conditioned air from the space in your home thru the Gaps Cracks & Holes* in the ceiling & walls. (there’s that Theme* again…) Any time you can reduce the transfer of air from COOL to HOT and DRY to WET you are way ahead;  Plus, that air exchange by an attic fan will leave your attic more humid…Another BIG NO NO that you want to avoid!!   

The better way is to reflect the heat “thermally” with a radiant barrier; this can drop the temperature 10,15 even 20 degrees in the attic during the peak heat load of the summer.  We even offer gaskets for the switchplate covers & outlets that will help reduce the leakage This is a great project for the DIY homeowner…There are even kits to make it easy.   A more expensive way is the foam “sealed attic” approach; then your duct system is in an area that is considered to be “climate controlled”  BE AWARE, this can be very tricky upgrade in a retrofit situation, but easy to do in new construction.  The foam contractor needs to pay EXTREME attention to detail on a project like this.

2) Get a duct leak test & Repair the duct leakage. If you don’t know how much your system is leaking then you’re guessing about the fix!  With a test of before & after you’ll know

how much improvement you can expect for future comfort  and energy savings. It’s best to do this in the cooler weather so this hot job doesn’t kill a work crew (less labor) and you’ll get a better price asking a company to work in your attic now rather than in May, June or  in July  when you get that monster power bill from the summer duct leakage.                                           

3) Lastly, INSULATE your attic. Be sure you have the other work done in the attic before you blow in any insulation; that needs to be the last step.

Think of this as the old oil filter commercial on TV “You can pay me now or pay me later”     

For More Health, Home Comfort, & Energy Tips go to www.gulfcoastaircare.com      or

Call us at (850) 934-2768 …and if you need help or expert advice, please ask!  We can Help!