Insulating Hvac Ducts In Attic

Most attic ducts are insulated flex ducts that is flex ducts with r 6 or r 8 fiberglass insulation along with an exterior polyethylene jacket.

Insulating hvac ducts in attic.

R 8 duct insulation 5 227 btu hour. Repeat to insulate the remaining ducts. Put it in an attic full of blown insulation and you re forcing it to work harder to vent its heat. Install ductwork so that it is in direct contact with i e laying on the ceiling and or truss lower cords.

Look for signs of air leaks at seams or joints such. 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. Insulated ducts have been the standard for decades now. No building inspector worth his or her salt is going to let any builder or hvac contractor get away with installing ducts that aren t insulated.

How to insulate your central air heating ducts. To install preformed duct insulation start by disconnecting an elbow to expose the end of the duct. Use the type of metallic foil duct tape recommended by the insulation manufacturer to seal and hold the insulation in place. Putting a furnace in an attic is not ideal but will happen.

If your ducts aren t insulated you re probably paying way more than you should to cool and heat your home. Make sure the foil surface of the insulation is free of dust before applying the tape. Duct insulation keeps air that s supposed to be cool cool and air that s supposed to be warm warm. This of course is a good thing.

Secure the insulation with short strips of foil tape. Inspect the span of ductwork to be insulated. Hvac ducts should be buried under insulation hard covered too. Use metal flex or fiber board ducts that are insulated to code.

Apply a long strip of foil tape along the seam in the insulation. According to rightsuite the software we use the supply ducts have about 560 square feet of surface area and the return ducts 101 square feet. All the ducts are in the attic. When hvac ducts are installed in a vented attic in a dry climate bury the ducts in attic insulation to protect them from temperature extremes in the unconditioned attic space.

Looking at the cooling side only the additional load would be. Snap a plastic cap onto the duct end then slip the preformed insulation over the duct. First consider the duct location. The duct insulation should include a vapor barrier cover.

Purchase duct wrap insulation that complies with the 2009 international energy conservation code iecc standards that specify an r value of 8. Unfortunately so many houses especially newer homes end up with ductwork running through the attic. Let s look for constantly improving methods through sharing.