1. Part 5 Technician’s Guide & Workbook for Duct Diagnostics and Repair

2. Section 2.2: Duct Sealing and Testing

3. Duct Sealing and Testing The duct sealing procedure can be divided into two portions: Repairing large leaks found during the general inspection; and Finding and repairing additional leaks that show up as a result repairing the large leaks.

4. Duct Sealing and Testing History of Leaks

5. Duct Sealing and Testing

9. Once the disconnected duct and the large holes have been repaired and sealed, the decision must be made on what to do about smaller leaks. There are three possibilities: Ignore them; Seal them by hand; and Use an internal aerosol sealing system.

10. Duct Sealing and Testing

12. ANSI/ACCA 5 QI-2015 HVAC Quality Installation Specification. Those minimum requirements are: Available for free downloading at: www.acca.org/quality

13. Duct Sealing and Testing a.For NEW CONSTRUCTION, test using any one of the three options: i.Ducts (100%) located inside the thermal envelope have no more than 10% total duct leakage (airflow in CFM), or ii. Ducts (any portion) located outside the thermal envelope have no more than 6% total duct leakage (airflow in CFM), or iii. Per local code or the AHJ.

14. Duct Sealing and Testing b. For EXISTING CONSTRUCTION, test using any one of the three options: i. No more than 20% total duct leakage (airflow in CFM), or ii. 50% improvement on existing leakage rate, or until 5.1.1.b.i. is achieved, or iii. Per local code or the AHJ.

15. Insulating Duct Systems

17. R-Value

18. EPA Cost Effective Duct Insulation R-Values Climate Type of Heating System Unconditioned Attic Unconditioned Crawl Space Warm with Cooling (ie., FL & HI; costal CA; Southeast TX) Southern LA,AR, MS,AL & GA) Gas/Oil or Heat Pump R-4 to R-8None to R-4 Electric Resistance R-4 to R-8None to R-4 Mixed with moderate heating and Cooling (ie., VA, WV, KY, MO, NE, OK, OR, WA, ID; Southern IN, KS, NM & AZ; Northern LA, AR, MS, AL, 7GA; inland CA and Western NV) Gas/Oil or Heat Pump R-4 to R-8R-2 to R-8 Electric Resistance R-4 to R-8R-2 to R-8 Cold ( ie., PA, NY, New Engl. Northern Midwest, Great Lakes area, mountainous areas like CO, WY, & UT) Gas/OilR-6 to R-11R-2 to R-11 Heat pump or electric Resistance R-6 to R-11R-2 to R-11 At a minimum upgrade to the local Code requirements when doing duct upgrades, or new installations.

19. Zone 2 Pa Manometer [(Zone 1 Pa + Zone 2 Pa) ≤ 3 Pa] Zone 1 Pa Imbalances above 3 Pa should be remediated Correcting Zone Imbalances

20. Zone 2 Pa Jump Duct or Change Return Designs Zone 1 Pa Correcting Zone Imbalances Jump Duct

21. Lessons Learned You should now be able to explain several duct leakage test methods. You should now be able to explain at what pressure a zone imbalance needs to be addressed. You should now be able to explain why you may want to recommend a duct leakage test prior to starting a duct repair. You should be able to locate existing duct R-Values and compare them to the current requirements.