If you need to replace the ductwork in your home or you're building a new home, you should think carefully about what type of ductwork you want to use. There are four main types of ductwork commonly used in HVAC systems: sheet metal ducts, flexible ducts, fiberboard ducts and fiberglass ductboard. The type of ductwork you choose will affect how much the project costs and can also have an impact on the effectiveness of your HVAC system and the air quality in your home. For these reasons, it's important that you understand the pros and cons of each option to help you determine which one is the best choice.
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Sheet Metal Ducts
Sheet metal ducts are the most common type. In the majority of homes and businesses in the US, most or all of the air ducts are built out of aluminum or galvanized steel sheet metal. Sheet metal ductwork is constructed by cutting and bending individual pieces of metal to create each duct branch. All of the branches are then installed and joined together, and then each joint is fully sealed with foil tape or mastic to ensure the entire system is airtight and doesn't leak.
Sheet metal is one of the most expensive ductwork options. All of the ducts are usually built in a sheet metal shop and then delivered to the site for the technicians to install. This means that sheet metal ductwork takes more time to build and install since the other options can typically be built on-site.
The only other real drawback to sheet metal is that it is a poor insulator. If you have sheet metal ductwork in an unconditioned area like an attic or crawl space, the outside of all of the ducts needs to be wrapped with insulation. If not, the sheet metal will absorb lots of heat in the summer and cold in the winter, which will make your HVAC system much less effective and lead to it using much more energy.
Despite the higher cost, sheet metal has numerous advantages over the other types of ductwork that typically make it the best option. Sheet metal ducts are extremely durable, as the metal used to build the ducts is fairly thick. This makes sheet metal ducts less prone to damage and leaks compared to the other options. The smooth metal surface also allows air to easily flow through the ductwork, which helps to improve the effectiveness and energy efficiency of the heating and air conditioning system.
Sheet metal is also non-porous, which makes it less prone to mold growth than other ductwork options. Any type of ductwork will collect dirt and other debris over time and should be professionally cleaned every few years. However, sheet metal ducts tend to collect less dust and are much easier to clean than the other options.
Flexible Ducts
Flexible or flex ducts are made of a coiled metal wire that is coated in a thick sheet of flexible plastic. It is extremely rare for all of the ductwork in a home to be made from flex duct, as at least the supply and return plenums that connect to the air handler and furnace need to be made from some type of rigid duct material.
Flexible ductwork is most commonly used for things like exhaust vents and attic fans. It can also be used for normal air ducts, but this is typically only ever done in situations where there isn't sufficient room to install rigid ducts. If you're installing something like a whole-home air filter or air purification system onto your HVAC system, flex ducts will typically also be used to connect it to your existing duct system.
Flexible ducts are the cheapest option and the easiest to install. However, they are also prone to sagging and kinking, which can interfere with airflow and make the HVAC system much less effective and less energy efficient. It is also extremely easy to puncture the plastic coating on flex ducts, which means they are also more prone to leaking than rigid ducts.
Fiberboard Ducts
Fiberboard ducts are made of stands of fiberglass that are embedded within a special resin. The outside of the ducts is also covered with foil that acts as a moisture and air barrier and helps to keep the duct better insulated. The inside of the ducts also has a special coating that fully seals the fiberboard to prevent any of the fiberglass strands from circulating in the air.
Fiberboard ducts are quickly becoming one of the most popular options and have a number of advantages over sheet metal. One major advantage is that fiberboard ducts are much better insulated to prevent heat loss and heat gain as the air flows through the ductwork. The insulation also has acoustic properties, which means it limits the amount of noise you hear when the HVAC system is running. This noise reduction is why fiberboard is so popular for commercial and industrial buildings.
Fiberboard is also less expensive and easier to install compared to sheet metal. Fiberboard ducts can easily be fabricated and the sheets cut to fit smaller areas or places where it would be difficult to install other types of ductwork.
The biggest issue with fiberboard is that the inside surfaces of the ducts are somewhat rough. This means that fiberboard ducts will trap much more dust and debris, which can negatively impact indoor air quality. Fiberboard ducts are also much more difficult to clean compared to sheet metal. The rough surface also creates more airflow resistance, which can make the HVAC system somewhat less effective. Fiberboard ducts are also much more prone to mold and mildew growth, which means they're generally not recommended for use in humid climates.
Fiberglass Ductboard
Fiberglass ductboard consists of standard sheet metal ducts that have a fiberglass lining that serves as an extra layer of insulation and also helps to dampen noise. The lining also helps to prevent condensation from forming on the inside and outside of the ducts. Fiberglass ductboard tends to be the most expensive option. It is most commonly used in cold climates, as it is better at preventing heat loss compared to the other options.
The biggest problem is that this type of duct is that it tends to trap lots of dust, allergens and bacteria. This means it will need to be cleaned more often, and it is also much more difficult to clean than any other option. Another issue is that fiberglass ductboard doesn't last as long. If not replaced soon enough, the fiberglass will start to deteriorate and release lots of particles into the air. This is a major health concern since exposure to fiberglass can irritate your eyes, skin, throat and lungs, and some studies have also linked fiberglass to an increased risk of lung cancer.
If you need any ductwork services in the Tampa area, Protek Roofing, Heating, Air & Solar is here to help. We specialize in ductwork inspections, installation and repairs, and we also offer professional air duct cleaning. Our expert team can also help if you need any other HVAC, roofing or solar power service. For more information on your options for ductwork installation or replacement, give us a call today.
10Reasons to Choose Phenolic Duct(pre-insulated duct)
In recent years, phenolic aluminum foil composite air ducts have emerged and developed rapidly, showing their talents in ventilation projects with their unique advantages. It has been applied in many important engineering buildings. For a long time, in ventilation projects, the material of ventilation and air conditioning pipes is mostly galvanized steel sheets. The outside of the pipe is sometimes covered with insulating layers such as glass wool, polyethylene foam or rubber sponge. However, this kind of traditional air duct has high production cost, heavy weight, long installation period, poor heat insulation performance and poor appearance, which makes the users and designers of central air conditioners eagerly hope for the emergence of new air duct materials.
Phenolic aluminum foil composite board is a sandwich panel made of phenolic foam board and aluminum foil. On-site processing and molding according to the design specifications, one-time hoisting, no need to add insulation layer. The phenolic aluminum foil composite air duct system has excellent fire protection performance, excellent heat insulation performance, corrosion resistance and aging resistance, good sound insulation performance, light weight and convenient construction, and has achieved obvious social and economic benefits.
Here are ten reasons to choose phenolic duct:
1. Lightweight to reduce building loads
The phenolic aluminum foil composite air duct is light in weight, about 1.4 kg/'. The bulk density of galvanized steel air duct (0.8mm thick) and glass fiber reinforced plastic air duct (3 mm thick) is 7.08 kg/' and 15~20 kg/' respectively. This can greatly reduce the load on the building, and is extremely beneficial to the installation of the air duct. When installing, it only needs to set up a bracket every 4m or so to have enough supporting force. This greatly reduces the requirements for the bearing capacity of brackets and hangers, making transportation and installation very convenient.
2. Good thermal insulation, can greatly reduce the heat dissipation loss of the air conditioner
The thermal conductivity of phenolic composite air duct is 0.016~0.036W/(m·k). The thermal conductivity of galvanized steel air ducts and FRP air ducts is much larger. In addition, the unique connection method of the phenolic composite air duct ensures the excellent air tightness of the ventilation system, which is close to 8 times that of the galvanized steel air duct. Some data show that when transporting the same amount of heat (cold), the heat loss of the galvanized steel air duct is 15%, the heat loss of the fiberglass air duct is 8%, and the heat loss of the phenolic foam insulation material air duct is less than 2%.
3. Durable and long service life
Phenolic composite air ducts are not as easy to rust, aging, and damage as traditional air ducts, and their service life is at least 15 years. The service life is more than 3 times longer than that of traditional air ducts. In addition, the reuse rate of phenolic composite air ducts can reach 60% to 80%, while traditional air ducts can hardly be reused.
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4. Good noise cancellation
The interlayer of the phenolic aluminum foil composite air duct is a porous phenolic foam material board, which has good noise reduction performance. In the central air-conditioning system, it can significantly reduce indoor noise. The phenolic composite air duct itself is a very good pipe muffler, and there is no need to install muffler accessories such as muffler covers or muffler elbows.
5. Lower the height of the storey
Traditional air ducts require on-site insulation layer construction, so a certain construction height is required, which puts additional requirements on the building's storey height. The phenolic aluminum foil composite air duct does not require on-site insulation construction, so there is no need to reserve construction space, which can reduce the height of the building.
6. The construction period can be shortened
The phenolic aluminum foil composite air duct is very light in weight, and the installation is more convenient and quicker than the traditional air duct. When the air duct is hoisted, the required hangers are simple, the number is small, and almost no machinery is used. The production is simple and simple, completely breaking through the traditional craft, greatly shortening the construction period, and the on-site modification is also very convenient. According to on-site calculations, each worker can install 20.0~30.0 ' per day during the installation of phenolic aluminum foil composite air duct, while the traditional air duct is only 4.0~5.0 '/(day · person). Compared with traditional air duct manufacturing, the production efficiency of phenolic aluminum foil composite air duct is increased by 4 to 5 times.
7. Hygiene
The surface of the phenolic aluminum foil composite air duct is sealed with aluminum foil, thus ensuring the hygiene of the conveying medium, avoiding secondary pollution, and the inner layer has no condensed water and no rust. In traditional air ducts, glass wool and asbestos are easy to absorb moisture, and the thermal insulation performance is seriously deteriorated after absorbing water. Moreover, asbestos is a carcinogen, and glass wool dust can irritate the skin and make construction workers itchy all over. In addition, galvanized steel air ducts are prone to rust and cold bridges.
8. Beautiful, suitable for surface installation
Phenolic aluminum foil composite air duct can be made into various colors, beautiful, especially suitable for surface installation. The surface of the traditional air duct needs to be wrapped with aluminum foil on site, so the surface installation effect is not very good.
9. Wide range of applications
Galvanized steel air ducts are widely used, but their service life is low in high humidity environments. The use of FRP ducts in hospitals, food processing plants, basements and other places with dust-proof requirements and high humidity is also restricted. The phenolic aluminum foil composite air duct can be widely used in industrial and civil buildings, hotels, hospitals, office buildings and other places with special requirements.
10. Strong temperature adaptability
Phenolic composite air ducts are suitable for a wide range of temperatures and can be used at high and low temperatures (-140°C to 150°C), unlike some other composite air ducts that can only be used at a temperature of 50°C.
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