Why your attic is the worst, most hostile environment to have your HVAC ductwork. Here is the smartest and most effective fix…
What is the #1 Comfort & Energy Problem?
The #1 comfort & efficiency improvement that can be made to the home is; fixing your ductwork by either encapsulating the air ducts or encapsulating the entire attic (foaming the roof).
Ductwork Problem
- 47% of a homes utility bill is spent on heating and cooling
- $0.30 of every $1.00 spent to cool & heat the home escapes
Comfort Results
Your home will COOL FASTER when Stellrr seals and insulates your ducts with closed cell foam because of the…
- Double insulated ducts will deliver the coldest air to all rooms
- 97% reduction in duct leakage means more air volume to rooms
Financial Impact
Fixing your ductwork DOESN’T COST, IT PAYS. You will save money because…
- HVAC unit will work much more efficiently
- Lower bills for fuel/electric all year
- Longer HVAC equipment life, less likely to fail
- Unit can be replaced with smaller, cheaper HVAC
- Smaller sizing requirements for solar power
Where or what is encapsulated?
In most cases, we are encapsulating the entire duct system. We go from where the register boots meet the drywall, and spray all the way to the plenum. We stop were the metal of the air handler is so that the HVAC tech can still work on the unit without problem. We insulate and seal where technicians never require access, which is everything except the metal blower and air filter area (air handler). So that means we double insulate and do a monolithic seal all of the duct connections, splitters, boots, drywall connections and more.
We also encapsulate the return air ducts. Why? Well when the return is not sealed 100% to the drywall, all connections and to the plenum…. then you are sucking in nasty attic air and blowing it into every room! Gross!
What if I need work done or replace my HVAC unit (air handler)?
This is not an issue. We foam the ductwork itself, not the mechanical Air Handler that will get replaced every 10-20 years. The process to change out the Air Handler is the same with foamed ductwork as it is with regular ductwork. The technician will just re-seal the ductwork plenum to the air handler after they replace the unit.
What if I need to replace or have work done on my ductwork?
By foaming the ductwork, we eliminate the need to ever replace or have work done on the ductwork. The problems causing a tech to advise re-working air ducts are solved by encapsulation (damage, leaks, uneven blowing, uneven temps, undersized, oversized, etc). Ductwork is almost never replaced. In fact, the other the ductwork, usually the better. The new flex duct is not near as good when compared to having old rigid metal ductwork spray foamed.
What is the cost or benefit of duct encap versus replacing ductwork?
First, replacing your ductwork us more than DOUBLE the price of duct encapsulation. When we encapsulate the ducts, we at least double your R-value. And we completely stop air leaks.
Replacing existing ducts with new fiberglass air ducts is not good in comparison. New ducts are a max of R-8. When we foam your ducts, we usually upgrade you to R-13 (the upcoming code requirement). New ducts are still sealed with mastic, that chalky substance that cracks over time. So you will still soon have the 20-30% duct leakage. The US Dept of Energy states that as the average duct leakage.
Wouldn’t my HVAC tech notify me if there was an issue with my ductwork?
I wish that was the case. I often go into homes where the HVAC tech has told the client that everything is working right, but the client cannot cool the house below 77 degrees in the summer. The problem is the attic re-heating the cold air.
Frankly, techs neglect ductwork. Their financial incentive is the mechanical equipment itself. They rarely inspect the ductwork. I have gone into a number of homes who have recently had HVAC techs out who failed to find ducts 100% disconnected and blowing cold air into the hot attic.
And I’m not talking about unsealed ducts. I’m talking about people like Robert whose AC went out and he had a 8” duct taken off the register boot. It was 100% blowing that into the attic. Robert got quotes from 5 different AC techs. Not one of them found the disconnected duct. Each of them were eager to sell a new system. Do you think that blowing 64 sq inches of air into the attic could wear out the HVAC unit? Yep!
