A duct system that is well-designed and properly sealed can make your home more comfortable, energy efficient, and safer. In houses with forced-air heating and cooling systems, ducts are used to distribute conditioned air throughout the house. In a typical house, however, about 20 percent of the air that moves through the duct system is lost due to leaks, holes, and poorly connected ducts. The result is higher utility bills and difficulty keeping the house comfortable. In addition, it will also reduce the amount of dust particles and potential biological hazards (such as mold) inside your ducts, which could make you and your family sick.  For forced air heating and/or cooling systems with ducts outside the insulated portion of the home, duct sealing is very important. For air ducts that are inside the home there are still potential reasons to seal the ducts. If the return duct is leaky it will pull unconditioned air, and unwanted particles from your attic or crawl space and possibly put them into your home. This could prematurely clog your air filter, making your HVAC unit run longer and thus consume more energy. A leaking supply duct could put warm, moist air into a cool area during the winter, causing condensation and damage to insulation in walls and ceiling, as well as mold growth. Leaks outside the insulated space can also cause pressure imbalances in the building, interfering with combustion appliance operation. For simple steps to improve duct performance, go to  http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_improvement.hm_improvement_ducts

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