Duct testing has become an essential part of home construction, as well as duct leakage on existing homes. Duct leakage is nothing more than a common thief. It takes advantage of us when we are not looking. "Duct leakage happens when the air you have paid money to heat and cool leaks out of the seams of your duct work, thereby sending your conditioned air, and your hard-earned money to the outside. The average home loses about 20% to 30% of the warm or cool air to the outside. Duct leakage robs us blind. The average Kilo-Watt Hour in the country ranges from .20 to .45 cents in California to .09 to .18 cents in the Midwest. The average home uses 975 KWH per month.
If you lost only 10% of the conditioned air from duct leakage, it would equate to approximately 2 round trips from New York to California and back.
In simple Terms
- The EPA and DOE state that the average home duct leakage is 30%
- You lost 216,000 CFM today
- You lost 78,840,000 CFM this year
- Summation: you gave away about 2 round trips from New York to California and you didn't even see it coming or should we say GOING!
Next Steps
Now that you see the impact of duct leakage, you may be wondering—what can you do?
- Builders & Homeowners: Call Duct-EZ for a professional sealing solution.
- DIY Homeowners: Visit your local home improvement store to purchase HVAC UL181 mastic. Spend a weekend applying it to all seams, elbows, and joints to ensure a proper seal. Avoid HVAC tape, as it doesn’t provide a long-lasting seal like mastic does.
- HVAC Technicians: If you’re hiring a professional to seal your ductwork, insist on mastic—it's the most durable and effective option.
For a hassle-free and highly effective solution, Duct-EZ offers spray-applied mastic sealing, which reaches every nook, cranny, and hard-to-access area of your duct system. Unlike traditional methods, Duct-EZ can also seal return air ducts behind drywall without messy drywall repairs. Plus, it can be applied directly into the ductwork without leaving behind the sticky residue found in other products.