Should Ductwork Be Replaced After 20 Years?

Although it plays a vital role in your HVAC system, the ductwork in your home probably gets next to no attention day after day. In fact, you might not think much about your HVAC system at all until a problem comes up, and even then, you are probably focused on the units that actually produce the warm or cool air. But can your ducts really be left alone for decades, or do they eventually need to be replaced? This article will take a closer look.

To work with a High Point HVAC company on ductwork concerns or any other issues you may be facing, make sure to call Berico before the competition. You’ll love the value that you get from Berico, and the company has been earning the trust of customers in this area for generations.

Ductwork Is Not Permanent

Despite not having any electronic components or other parts that you would think about as needing to be repaired or replaced, ductwork doesn’t last forever. The title of this article asks whether or not ductwork needs to be replaced after 20 years, but the reality is that you might want to think about having your ducts replaced even sooner than that. Getting efficient performance out of your HVAC system relies on having good ducting in place, and the ability of your ducts to deliver warmed and cooled air throughout the house will gradually decline over time.

Movement is the Problem

Ducts aren’t supposed to move. Once put in place, the idea is that they should stay as still as possible while they carry air around the building. That’s not quite how it plays out in the real world, however, as ever-changing temperatures cause shifts not only in the ducts but also in the building that they are connected to. These shifts will be subtle, but over time they can lead to cracks at the seams that allow warmed or cooled air to escape the ducts and degrade the performance of the whole system.

In addition to cracks opening up at the seams, you might also find problems that develop as a result of condensation. Good insulation can help to limit this issue, but it is still possible that you’ll run into trouble at some point in the future.

Watch for Signs of Trouble

Even if you can’t see the ducts in your house, you can pay attention to indications that they might need to be replaced sooner rather than later. As a starting point, think about the age of your home. If the home is rather old and you know the ducts haven’t been replaced, doing so is almost certainly going to be a useful project. Also, if the air quality inside your home isn’t what you expect it to be, the culprit could be cracks along the seams in the ducts that are letting dirty air into the system on the downstream side of the filter.

Heating and cooling a home is far more successful when the ductwork is up to the challenge. Of course, ducts aren’t the only piece of this puzzle, so get in touch with Berico if other help is needed, such as AC repair in High Point. The Berico team would love to serve you!