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Ductwork installation is one of the important aspects people overlook. For instance, room additions have a great impact on the ductwork, including the general cooling and heating of your home or commercial building. Even 200 square feet of addition may require significant changes to your ductwork system.

To ensure you get it right, it’s important to understand what ductwork is, the role it plays and its key components. Arming yourself with the information regarding the process will not only help you get it right the first time but also ensure your projects run more smoothly.

The Basic Function of the Duct System

A ductwork system is designed to distribute airflow from your HVAC equipment to your entire home or commercial building. This encompasses the air that is sucked from the whole building into the air conditioner /heater where it gets cooled or heated and then pushed back via the ducts into your living space.

The intake and supply of the air are determined by how efficient a duct system is. If you do not have properly designed return vents, the equilibrium of the cooling and heating system and air pressure will be off. This makes your climate control and home’s efficiency suffer invariably.

You should know that pipes used to transfer gas, water or refrigerant are not ductwork. Only air is moved via ductwork. What’s more, there are many ductwork constructions and shapes you can choose from. It may come in oval, round or rectangular shapes. It might be fashioned from a wide range of materials like flexible plastics, fiberglass or different metals.

Most homes with traditional heating and cooling systems will have some type of duct system. This could include forced-air heat, central air conditioning or other types of system.

Why Proper Installation Is Key

Properly-installed ductwork helps to keep the home comfortable because it effectively regulates the temperature in the entire home. However, shoddy installation creates numerous problems. Seams between duct pieces are sealed using an aluminum tape while ductwork is separated from areas like crawl spaces and attics with insulation.

If any of these issues is not appropriately handled, air leakage occurs. This makes the system inefficient, and the quality of air will be poor. It could also lead to the failure of the entire air conditioning or heating equipment, which is even more costly.

Another aspect that needs to be considered when installing ductwork is the sizing. The ductwork’s size should match the size of the air conditioner and/or heater so as to ensure the operation is very efficient. Ductwork installation experts should be capable of matching the equipment you are using to the duct system for a solid fit.

The pros can also fine-tune the ductwork for comfort, longevity and optimal efficiency. This is known as balancing; a process where the dampers located in the ducts are adjusted to make sure that the required amount of air flows into each room.

Parts of the System

A duct system has other components other than the ducts, which help the system to operate as required to offer quality air in your entire home or commercial building. Listed below are some key components you should know and their functions:

Vibration isolators

Vibration isolators are flexible sections usually inserted in the duct after or before the air handler to minimize the vibration that occurs when a duct system is operating. Duct systems start at the air handler, which contains blowers. Blowers create substantial vibration, making the duct system transmit the vibration and noise throughout the building. This is avoided by using vibration isolators made with a rubberized material.

Take-offs

Take-offs are fitted into openings cut into the main duct’s wall. They help the main duct branching to allow small portions of the flow into the branch ducts. The take-off has numerous metal tabs bent to attach it to the main duct.

Stack boots and heads

Ducts allow air to be transported vertically in thin walls. The ducts are also known as stacks and are formed with relatively thin or very wide oval sections or rectangular sections. A stack boot, found at the bottom of the stack, offers a transition from the ordinary duct to a thin-wall mounted duct. A head stack also provides a transition back to the ordinary ducting at the top.

Volume Control Dampers

Your duct system needs to have a way to adjust the airflow volume to different sections of the ducting unit. Volume control dampers help with this function and can be automatic or manual. Automatic control in a simple system is provided by zone dampers while the VAR (variable air volume) helps control the complex systems.

Smoke and Fire Dampers

These components are found in the duct system if a duct is passing through a fire curtain or firewall. They are designed to seal off a duct immediately if they detect fire or smoke. They then stay sealed until a technician manually reopens them.

Turning Vanes

Turning vanes are designed to be installed in the ductwork to reduce resistance and turbulence to the flow of air. The air is guided by the vanes, helping it change the direction easily.

Plenums

These are the central collection and distribution units in an HVAC system. The return plenums carry air from numerous return vents into the centralized air handler. The supply plenum, on the other hand, directs air from the system’s central unit into the rooms that need cooling or heating.

Terminal Units

Terminal units are often found in the branch ducts in a multi-zone HVAC system. Normally, each thermal zone has one terminal unit. Some of them are fan-powered mixing boxes, induction terminal units and VAV boxes. Sometimes they contain a cooling or heating coil.

Air Terminals

These are the outlets that supply air or are exhaust or return air inlets. When it comes to supplying air, diffusers are commonly found in smaller HVAC systems used in residences. Exhaust grilles are used for appearance reasons, although some also have an air filter.

Conclusion

To get quality air in your home or commercial building, it’s important to have an efficient duct system. Proper installation is key and should always be done by a professional who can evaluate your needs and ensure you get a system that’s efficient and effective.

You should make sure your duct system is cleaned by our specialists to ensure that you and your family breathe quality air. You can always choose the material you prefer for your ductwork, but PHD Heating & Cooling should be in a better position to advise you accordingly.

Call us today at (312) 409-33-26 or contact us online to schedule a visit with one of our specialist.