How To Insulate Heating Ducts In Attic
Purchase duct wrap insulation that complies with the 2009 international energy conservation code iecc standards.
How to insulate heating ducts in attic. Measure each run of exposed duct in an attic basement or under a subfloor. To install sleeves you must either disassemble the ductwork and slide it on before reassembling the ducts or as many homeowners find themselves doing slit it and wrap it around like the blanket style material. If necessary switch the wires to reduce the blower to its lowest speed. When insulating hvac ductwork use a foil faced fiberglass insulation with an r 6 or higher r value.
How to insulate your central air heating ducts 1. Energy saver dealers 204 202 views. Look for signs of air leaks at seams or joints such as streams of dust. Come in pre measured lengths.
I found instead a vintage 3 ton ac unit with 1 rigid insulation taped all over it and insulated flex duct snaking all over the poorly insulated attic. If using this technique in a humid or marine climate the ducts must be encapsulated with spray foam before installing the blown insulation. Measure the size of all square rectangular or circular ducts. She asked me to go into the attic to find the roof leaks or where the snow is blowing in through the soffits.
When these ducts are exposed to exterior air the plastic jacket never gets cold enough to permit condensation because the hot attic air keeps the plastic jacket warm. Bury the ducts deeply in insulation. For an added layer of protection you can apply duct mastic to the tape and duct. Use a paintbrush to apply duct mastic to the joints where an elbow connects to a duct.
How to insulate the attic air sealing the attic energy saving attic insulation duration. That s what happened to the ducts in the lead photo of this article. Press a continuous strip of foil tape to all longitudinal seams along straight runs of duct. Check the speed of the blower motor on the furnace.
Obtain foil face fiberglass insulation based on the sizes. Use the type of metallic foil duct tape recommended by the insulation manufacturer to seal and hold the insulation in place. This isn t equivalent to bringing them into the conditioned space as you ll still have additional duct load but it s a lot better than having them in unconditioned attic space. Install loose fill insulation to cover the ducts and the attic floor to meet or exceed the code required r value for attic insulation.
They may have an adhesive strip to make the installation a little easier. In the end it s probably best to buy the blanket insulation. The rigid insulation was saturated from condensation.