Energy Savings Tips – Air Duct Cleaning Saves At Least 11 Percent On Your Annual Energy Costs

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning a home or small commercial building is requires a lot of energy.

Your HVAC (heating, air conditioning and Ventilation) system accounts for 30 percent of the energy used in an average home or small building. In addition, heating and cooling larger dwellings accounts for up to half of the energy use. On the whole, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems are by far the largest sources of energy use within a home or building. Heating and air conditioning systems tend to be the most important and expensive investment we make to our property but somehow, we take it for granted and most heating and cooling systems tend to be poorly maintained. These systems, which are used every day of the year, get dirty and can become heavily contaminated with dirt, dust, animal dander, and more.

Your HVAC (heating, air conditioning and Ventilation) system accounts for 30 percent of the energy used in an average home or small building.

Believe it or not, heating and cooling systems in new homes and buildings are often heavily fouled before occupants move in due to construction debris. Contaminated heating and cooling systems contribute to poor indoor air quality in the form of increased airborne particulates and reduced comfort. Fouled systems have to work much  harder due to decreased air flow which makes them more prone to failure. When it comes to having a productive, energy-efficient heating and air conditioning system, air flow is king. Increased air flow equals better performance. When HVAC systems become fouled, air flow is reduced. Dirty filters, clogged coils, fouled blowers and other components impede air flow and and make your air conditioning unit work harder and result in increased energy costs.

The solution is to have the heating and air conditioning system professionally cleaned by a NADCA certified Air systems Cleaning Specialist. Professional cleaning for a heating and air conditioning system entails cleaning not only the ductwork, but also the vents, registers, blower, coils, and other complete cleaning of the heating and air conditioning system is a highly specialized duct cleaning service that differs from the routine maintenance provided by the air conditioning technician sent out to clean and adjust the air conditioners. Complete cleaning of the heating and air conditioning system is important to ensure your air conditioning system continues to operate at peak efficiency. Call Universal Air and Heat to thoroughly clean your air handler components. 813-510-5667

So how much does it cost to operate a fouled heating and cooling system?

That is the question asked by the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA), a not-for-profit association representing companies around the world that inspect, clean and restore heating and air conditioning systems. In 2008 NADCA initiated a project with researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) to conduct an in-depth study of this issue. Researchers conducted two field trials to assess the accuracy of the computer model.
Through this process, researchers came to realize that there was no comprehensive data available to quantify the savings that can be achieved through cleaning of heavily-fouled systems, typical of systems regularly encountered by NADCA members. (For purposes of this research, “Heavily-fouled” systems are defined as systems where complete cleaning results in a pressure change of at least 30 percent. Pressure change is simply an easier way to measure air flow.)
The calculations in the computer model were based on data collected from lightly-fouled systems – systems that are not very dirty.

According to the results of the study, cleaning even lightly-fouled systems can produce substantial energy savings. These findings are based on complete cleaning of heating and air conditioning systems in accordance with NADCA’s ACR 2006 Standard, which includes cleaning ductwork, coils, blower, other air-side system components, and changing the filter. Based on the initial research, cleaning a lightly-fouled system provides, on average, an 11 percent savings off of the energy used for heating and air conditioning systems.

Researchers have proven that cleaning even lightly-fouled heating and cooling systems can result in energy savings of 11 percent. Cleaning heavily-fouled systems is expected to produce an even greater savings than cleaning systems that are essentially clean. In addition to these savings, consumers who have their heating and cooling system cleaned can benefit from improved indoor air quality, reduced maintenance costs and extended life expectancy for the heating and cooling system. While not yet confirmed, cleaning
heavily-fouled systems is expected to produce even greater energy savings.