The air ducts aren’t something that too many homeowners concern themselves with. However, making sure that they are cleaned on a regular basis is important for a number of reasons. Not only does investing in air duct cleaning help to improve the air quality of your home, it also improves your home’s energy efficiency. Dirty air ducts not only make it more difficult for your HVAC system to heat or cool your home, which results in increased energy use (and as a direct result, increased energy costs), but they also cause unnecessary wear and tear to your HVAC system, thereby shortening its lifespan.
The main purpose of your air ducts is to disperse the warm or cool air that your HVAC system produces throughout your home. Because it is circulating air throughout your house, it’s also circulating all the things that are in your air, such as dust, dander, allergens and more. These things will cling through the interiors of your ducts and will build up over time. If you don’t have your air ducts cleaned regularly, then all of these contaminants will build up to the point where they obstruct efficient airflow.
You may be thinking, “well, isn’t that what my air filters are for?” Yes, your air filters help to trap some of the contaminants in the air, and by changing or cleaning your filters monthly, you can help to keep your duct system working efficiently. However, your ducts will still get dirty from normal use. Roughly 25 to 40 percent of the energy that is used for heating or cooling your home is wasted every year, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Energy. By simply having your air ducts cleaned on a regular basis, your HVAC system will use less energy to cool or heat your home – thereby also resulting in less wear and tear on the HVAC system itself.
Be sure to have a professional air duct cleaning service clean your dirty ducts to keep your HVAC system running as efficiently as possible and as long as possible.
