Insulating ductwork in basement

Find The Right Material For Every Job. What is the best duct insulation? How to insulate exposed ductwork? Should I insulate my ducts? Check the speed of the blower motor on the furnace.

If necessary, switch the wires to reduce the blower to its lowest. Press a continuous strip of foil tape to all longitudinal seams along straight runs of duct. Use a paintbrush to apply duct mastic to the joints where an elbow. The air coming out of the ducts may be a little warmer, but the temperature in the rooms of the house will still be at whatever you have the thermostat set to. See, the teacher was right!

If, on the other han your ducts run across the ceiling of a heated basement or inside well-insulated walls and ceilings, your need for duct insulation is minimal. However, if the ducts have a lot of leaks, the air that makes it to your rooms will not be as warm or as cool as intended. So duct loss matters no matter what.

I might wait and see. Now, that may be a good thing during the hot summers in Sacramento, so in the end you may even see this side effect as a bonus. If the ductwork is not sealed properly, any leaks will damage the insulation because it will create humidity. In turn, humidity can condense in the cold areas of the basement and can cause rot and mol matting down the insulation and reducing its effectiveness. Sweating ducts in finished basement - HVAC-Talk:.

The insulation type will be determined by your ductwork configuration and budget. The two most common ways to insulate ductwork are. Insulating Ductwork - HVAC-Talk: Heating, Air.

Secure the insulation with short strips of foil tape, then apply a long strip of foil tape along the seam. Repeat until all the ductwork is insulated. To install pre-formed duct insulation , start by disconnecting an elbow to expose the end of the duct.

Our heating and AC ducts are 1 within the thermal envelope in the floor trusses above our insulated basement. High R, Vapor and Radiant Barrier Ship same day. Fully Customizable Ducts. Use Your Color, Pattern and Even Your Logo. The ductwork in unconditioned areas, such as basements, floors, and ceilings is where ductwork insulation is most necessary.

Wrap the insulation around the duct, and then pinch the seam closed. This condensation leads to moisture buildup inside the enclosed space of the duct system. Go to the basement or crawl space of your home. Wrap metal duct tape around any seams you see in the ducts themselves, or at seams where the ducts may connect to other pieces of equipment.

Essentially, the basement is within the heated space of your home. The answer would be different if the ductwork was outside the heated space (e.g. the attic). Duct wrap has a foil outer layer and a foam insulation inner layer. Simply wrap it around the duct and secure with duct tape along the seams. Cut off the excess wrap with a utility knife.

If both the ducts and the basement walls are not insulate consider insulating both. Water pipes and drains in unconditioned spaces could freeze and burst if the heat ducts are fully insulated be-cause there would be no heat source to prevent the space from freezing in cold weather. You may actually achieve very small gains using your central heating system, but I have never been able to measure the difference. Once your ducts cool off between cycles, they have to start at room temp again.

Forget the foil- it needs an air gap on both sides to have a reasonable thermal benefit. Free 2-day Shipping On Millions of Items.