Duct Leakage Testing

The air distribution system is an extremely important and often overlooked part of the pressure envelope. Leaky duct systems compromise indoor air quality, create health and safety concerns, and significantly increase energy consumption. We pressure test duct systems with a duct blaster to ensure they meet nationally recognized airtightness standards.

At Advanced Insulation we know that it is imperative to have sealed ductwork in order to achieve the goal of a home that is healthy, comfortable and energy efficient. Although sealing up ductwork sounds simple, our experience out in the field has shown that too many HVAC contractors have never been educated or asked to install airtight ductwork. Presently we are only passing about half the systems we test.

The upgrade to sealed and tested air distribution systems is a much better value than the upgrade from an R-30 attic insulation to an R-38. Duct leakage concerns us because the energy loss from duct leaks can be so significant that it quickly undermines the benefit of a quality insulation job.

The ideal time to test ductwork is before the sheet rock is hung. We measure the leakiness of the system and if necessary, we introduce theatrical fog to make the duct leaks visible. The theatrical fog is an especially important diagnostic tool if a system fails and we need to pinpoint the location of the leaks. No one can argue with the fog rolling out of leaky ductwork.

For an in-depth article about duct blaster testing link to Journal of Light Construction and read the article Michael Uniacke, the owner of Advanced Insulation, has written about duct blaster testing.

Related Articles by Michael Uniacke

Pressure-Testing Ductwork
Everyone talks about the importance of sealed ductwork, but the only way to be sure a new system measures up is to test it.

Videos by Michael Uniacke

Duct Blaster: Testing for Proper Duct Sealing
0:32 MPG - 11MB