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.

Inspect the span of ductwork to be insulated. All the ducts are in the attic. Secure the insulation with short strips of foil tape. This of course is a good thing.

Insulated ducts have been the standard for decades now. Unfortunately so many houses especially newer homes end up with ductwork running through the attic. First consider the duct location. The greater the temperature extreme between the air inside the duct and the air surrounding the ductwork the greater your need for duct insulation.

Snap a plastic cap onto the duct end then slip the preformed insulation over the duct. Looking at the cooling side only the additional load would be. 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. Apply a long strip of foil tape along the seam in the insulation.

In addition to making the unit hard to get to for service high attic heat can trigger the. Insulating hvac ductwork 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. Put it in an attic full of blown insulation and you re forcing it to work harder to vent its heat.

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. Duct insulation keeps air that s supposed to be cool cool and air that s supposed to be warm warm. Use metal flex or fiber board ducts that are insulated to code. Purchase duct wrap insulation that complies with the 2009 international energy conservation code iecc standards that specify an r value of 8.

Make sure the foil surface of the insulation is free of dust before applying the tape. The duct insulation should include a vapor barrier cover. Repeat to insulate the remaining ducts. Hvac ducts should be buried under insulation hard covered too.

Let s look for constantly improving methods through sharing. 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. Use the type of metallic foil duct tape recommended by the insulation manufacturer to seal and hold the insulation in place. R 8 duct insulation 5 227 btu hour.

Look for signs of air leaks at seams or joints such. Install ductwork so that it is in direct contact with i e laying on the ceiling and or truss lower cords. 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.