Michigan Home Energy-Saving Guide: Heating, Cooling and Ductwork

Where Michigan Homes Waste Energy

Michigan homes run the furnace for long winters and the air conditioner through humid summers, so small inefficiencies add up over the year. The most common energy wasters Safety King technicians find are:

• Dirty or clogged filters that restrict airflow and make the blower run longer to move the same amount of air.
• Leaking air ducts that send heated or cooled air into attics, crawlspaces, wall cavities and unfinished basements instead of the rooms you are trying to condition.
• Blocked supply registers and return grilles covered by furniture, drapes or rugs.
• Clogged dryer vents that force the dryer to run longer for every load.
• Neglected outdoor coils on the air conditioner, which reduce cooling performance and raise operating cost.

Simple Steps You Can Take Yourself

Several improvements cost little or nothing:

• Check your filter every month during heavy heating and cooling seasons and replace it when it looks dirty, or at least as often as the filter maker recommends.
• Keep supply registers and return grilles open and unblocked, and wipe the dust off their faces regularly.
• Use a programmable or smart thermostat so the system is not working hard while nobody is home.
• Keep the area around the outdoor air conditioner clear of leaves, grass clippings and plants.
• Clean the dryer lint screen after every load and have the full dryer vent run cleaned when drying times start to stretch out.

During a summer outage or heat wave, closing blinds on sun-facing windows, running ceiling fans and avoiding the oven during the hottest part of the day also help keep the house cooler.

Why Ductwork Matters So Much

Your ducts are the delivery system for everything your furnace and air conditioner produce. According to ENERGY STAR, about 20 to 30 percent of the air moving through the duct system in a typical house is lost to leaks, holes and poorly connected ducts.

When conditioned air escapes, the system runs longer to satisfy the thermostat. Rooms at the end of long duct runs may never feel comfortable, and leaky return ducts can pull in dust and other contaminants from unconditioned spaces.

Many leaks sit behind walls, under floors or above ceilings where they cannot be reached with tape or mastic. That is why Safety King tests duct leakage first and uses Aeroseal duct sealing to seal leaks from the inside.

Test Before You Spend

An energy audit or a duct leakage test shows where the energy is actually going, so you do not guess. Safety King uses Duct Blaster testing to measure how much air the duct system leaks before recommending sealing.

In most Southeast Michigan homes, Safety King's Aeroseal applications reduce measured duct leakage by roughly 90 percent. Each customer receives a computer-generated before-and-after report. You can see examples in our Aeroseal duct sealing results.