Central AC unit systems depend on a series of ducts for your entire home to be regulated with cool air throughout the hot and humid seasons. The air is cooled within the air conditioner itself, which is then driven into the ducts using a fan. That enables the AC system to evenly circulate the cooled air, guaranteeing that the whole house is evenly cooled. Normally, ducts are secured by their location: in the same spots like your attic’s crawlspace or behind the walls. However, that can turn around and trouble you when your ducts deal with the damage.

Air ducts can unintentionally get damaged once work is being done anywhere in the house, or when small creatures such as raccoons or squirrels reach into your crawlspaces. However, they can simply be damaged as well since the bolts that hold the duct’s different sections tend to wear out, which results in the same wear and tear that any duct would experience at some point. Such damage can be extremely difficult to determine unless you know what you should pay attention to.

Why is a damaged duct an issue?

Having a damaged duct can be problematic since it can disrupt the ability of your AC unit to cool the house, divots or Crimps will lower the air passing flow over the system. Leaks will either pull unconditioned air in or pull conditioned air out. Both of these will likely cause your AC system’s monthly expenses to skyrocket. It can also cause strain on it and boosting the possibility of a more extreme and unrepairable breakdown sooner or later.

How to detect this problem?

It can be challenging to determine duct damage because you rarely see the ducts themselves. However, you can choose to look out for typical warning signs. Some of the common symptoms include the following:

  • Minimized airflow that comes out of the vents. When the occurrence only affects a single vent, the damage is probably in that specific part of the ducts. However, when it’s affecting more than one vent, there’s a possibility that the issue could be nearer to the AC unit itself.
  • Short cycling, which happens when the AC system rapidly turns off and on. Commonly, this occurs in extreme cases, when the cool air stays trapped within the system and has started to impact the way the unit functions.
  • Weird sounds, which are commonly hums or whistles that happen while the air slips out of the breach. Most of the time, you’ll begin to notice these noises as you try to either stop or start your air conditioner.
  • Higher bills. The loss of efficiency from the crimp or duct leak indicates that the air conditioner must work harder and double-time to efficiently do its intended job. But know that this can increase your monthly bills in the process.
  • Cold spots that form on floors or walls. These spots are usually where the cool air that leaks from the ducts are blowing.

If you’re having some issues with your HVAC systems, air ducts, or AC unit, make sure to reach out to an expert?insulation contractor Sunnyvale?to professionally fix them for you.