Until I moved into an older home, I didn’t realize the importance of ductwork.
My husband and I quickly discovered that our house was extremely difficult and expensive to heat and cool. Throughout the winter, there were rooms that were always chilly and drafty. During the summer, we had complaints with overheated rooms and musty smells. There always seemed to be a lot of dust and other particles circulating in the air, requiring continuous vacuuming and dusting. Plus, we weren’t happy with the cost of our monthly energy bills. It didn’t matter if we were relying on the furnace or the air conditioner, our expenses were excessive. We assumed the problem was with the heating and cooling units. However, when we hired a local HVAC contractor to provide an inspection and recommendations, he informed us that the source of all of our complaints was the ductwork. He told us that ductwork has a lifespan of approximately twenty-five years and ours was far older than that. He felt that cleaning, sealing and repairs of the ductwork wouldn’t get us satisfactory results and suggested replacement. Since that’s an extremely big, messy, disruptive and expensive project, we got a second opinion. We heard the same thing. I also googled and found confirmation. The project was quite invasive and costly. It has made a huge improvement in the comfort, air quality and energy efficiency of the home. We now enjoy a consistent temperature and much lower utility bills. We also took the opportunity to upgrade to zone control, which has added to our ability to avoid needless expense.