Should I seal my ductwork.?

Question

I have a doublewide mobile home I moved in two years ago.   Using budget billing, my electric bill is 290-300 dollars a month.  The heat pump/ac seems to run constantly even when I set it at 79 degrees in the summer.   The ducts are under the house and most of the joints where a round duct goes into the main air duct are not sealed with tape or mastic.     I could feel cold air blowing out the joints on most of these.    I sealed three spots yesterday with foil tape and mastic.   Is it worth my time to crawl under the house and seal up the rest of the leaks.   There are a lot of leaky joints.  Would my energy savings be significant or not if I sealed everything up tight?

? · Answer

Yes, it'll be worth it.  That's what duct tape is for, sealing ducts. You might want to think about insulation too.

Karen L · Answer

You'll save a lot more than it will cost you to buy the tape, that's for sure. But you might save even more by setting the air a couple of degrees warmer.

Spock (rhp) · Answer

yes.  use the foil tape that HVAC techs use for this.  If you're an overachiever, mastic over the tape is fine.  Will this help your bill?  yes, indeed.  And if those ducts are not insulated, ponder how to do that as well.  -- grampa

Anonymous · Answer

Seal the duct work properly and call an HVAC technician to check the heat pump/ac unit.  It could be low on charge.

Anonymous · Answer

Lets put it this way.  I live in a 3000 SF two story house with basement and my electric bill is $80-$100 a month in the summer in Illinois keeping my house at 75.  Your ducts need to be sealed and insulation added to all ducts.  When I lived in Houston my electric bill was around $200 a month keeping a 2400 SF house at 75.  You should also check the temperature of the air inside the duct to make sure your AC is working properly or just wasting electricity.    Your electric bill should be under $150 if you had enough insulation and ducts sealed.

Should I seal my ductwork.?

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