DUCT PRESSURE TESTING

Duct Pressure Testing
In 1994 Ecotope, Inc. conducted a scientific study involving residential air ducting systems.

The study measured efficiency of forced air duct systems in 24 electrically heated houses located in the Pacific Northwest, including both heat pump and forced air heating systems. The houses were closely monitored in order to calculate two separate measures of duct system efficiency.

For the base sample of 22 houses with exterior duct systems, the average Heat Delivery Efficiency was measured at 56.2%. This means that nearly 44 percent of the energy input to the heating system was lost due to air leakage and conduction before being delivered through the supply ductwork.

Duct Leakage Rates of 50%
These results are consistent with our duct pressure test results for residential homes in the South Bay. We consistently encounter duct leakage rates of 50%.
This is a rather shocking statistic. It means that most of the households we test are losing half of their heating and cooling capacity due to leaky duct systems.
Probably the single greatest cost saving and environmentally responsible action a home owner can make is to test, and when appropriate, repair leaking ductwork to duct pressure loss.

The ideal time to do this is when a new system is installed. This gives us the opportunity to test both the supply and return side of the ducting system to accurately measure each side of the system.

Cold Craft performs duct leakage tests by pressurizing the system and monitoring pressure drop with a computer. We typically generate a highly detailed report showing system inefficiencies in terms of square inches or total percent of pressure loss.
While the level of savings and duct pressure efficiencies vary from home to home, significant savings are possible. Call (408) 374-7292 for more info.