Your central heating and cooling system does more than keep you comfortable from the ever-changing temperatures of the great outdoors. An HVAC system is equally responsible for keeping the air in your home circulating. It does this via the ductwork that is installed throughout your home, so it makes sense that you want this to be properly sized. Ductwork is supposed to be sized based on the unique needs of your house, so it is possible that it could be either too large or too narrow.
If you want to know if your ductwork is the right size, here is some information to help:
How to Size Ductwork Properly
The old saying goes that bigger is always better, but that doesn’t necessarily hold true for HVAC systems. Instead, an efficient system is designed to heat and cool an area with the maximum amount of efficiency. It should never use more or less energy than actually required to make you feel comfortable. Experts who guide you in the process of choosing a unit and establishing ductwork should do so using load calculations.
A load calculation determines how much heat a room will need in cubic feet of airflow per minute. It is usually determined using a protocol known as the Manual J. It accounts for things like the number of occupants in the house, the number of windows, ceiling heights, square footage, and so much more.
The final number that is found from the load calculation is factored against the output capability of the central heating and cooling system. Using a handy chart, your HVAC expert can properly size your ductwork. As you can see, determining the right size for your ductwork requires detailed research. Make sure your professional is taking all of your information into account.
How Do I Know If My Ducts Are Too Small?
Fortunately, there is an easy way to determine if your air ducts are too narrow. If they are not wide enough to handle the airflow required by your home, then they will have too much static pressure. In turn, this static pressure results in excessive air that moves through the system. You might not think that air can sound loud, but static pressure in your system is often loud enough to be distracting. You won’t easily be able to ignore this sound.
While determining that your ductwork is too small is easy, the solution can be quite costly. Replacing your ductwork and expanding it is expensive work, so make sure you hire a professional to do the work correctly the first time around. Undersized ductwork can overwork your heating and cooling units, resulting in faster wear and tear and a shorter lifespan.
Getting Narrow Ductwork Repaired
If you are looking for someone to repair your narrow ductwork, call your local professionals – Provincial Heating and Cooling offers some of the best central air conditioner maintenance in Winnipeg. Give us a call today to talk about what options you have for repairing or replacing your ductwork in an affordable way!