In your home the mvhr system has multiple parts, which would be either an indoor or outdoor unit, vents and duct work systems. If there are signs of the heating or AC system not working, the problem could be located within any of the parts. If the unit has stopped working and it’s not providing hot or cold air, then you should start looking for the issues in the air ducts.  

Before the house is even introduced to hot or cooled air, it first needs to travel through the ducts work.  Duct that leaks steal away the comfort within a home, this would make the system use more energy to create a comfortable environment.  

Ducts need to be sealed tightly to retain conditioned air and contain the energy it provides. Damaged ducts, gaps, loose connections and disconnected ducts will allow the air to escape the system before it enters the living environment, thus wasting energy. Typically, a home will have some duct tears, holes or just poor connections. These leaks that are being lost through these ducts can be as much as 30% loss of air being circulated into the home. This will cause poor heating and cooling, but the most vital part is that it will destroy your energy costs.  

When it comes to trying to identify or solve the problems of ducts leaking, below are a list of few methods that can be used:  

• •  Heating or cooling irregular

• •  You can see or hear the air escaping from your ductwork, that being gaps or holes within the duct work

• •  Noticing that bills are slightly higher when your usage is the same

• •  The room feels stuffy and there’s more dust than usual

• •  Ductwork being in an enclosed space like the attic or a crawlspace

• •  Twisted or kinked ductwork

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First thing is to inspect all the duct work that you can visually see and access. The system will be in the attic or basement once there inspects the ducts. Look at all the areas of the duct and the connections for gaps or any disconnection and tears. Also, another sign would be tape. If you see tape across any duct, that means the duct has been patched up. This could be a sign of a duct leak. Tape isn’t a good sealing material, and the duct can still be leaking.  

Turn the system on and go to the areas where you can access the ductwork. Check again the connections of the ducts, by doing this put your hand over the material. If you feel a light breeze against your hand, there will be a leak in the duct and a loose connection. Majority of these leaks will be around joints of the ducting.  

Another way to check is to use a smoke pen or incense stick. Move along the ducts and see if there is any movement. This will identify any air that is escaping the duct.  

If you can see kinks or hear any air leaking, then keep a note of this, then check the entire system. There could also be issues somewhere else in the system, and they might not be in areas that are easy to access. Keep all records of your findings, you can write it down, take pictures. This will be easy for you to show who ever served the system, so they know what the problems are. If you feel you don’t want to do this, you can call a professional to do the inspection for you.