Duct Leakage Evaluation

Recent studies have shown duct leakage can account for up to 40% of energy costs. With today's energy costs, that is a significant amount. New buildings should have ductwork built, installed and sealed properly by trained professionals. Retrofits can be performed on older buildings to stop the leakage and increase energy efficiency. However, even new buildings can have leaks if the ductwork was not installed properly.

Duct leakage has the largest impact on HVAC system performance. Duct leakage commonly results from leaky ductwork running through attics, basements or garages. However, significant leakage can also occur when all ductwork is located within a building's envelope. That leakage occurs whenever the air handler fan is operating.

NEMI has created a Task Force to research and evaluate the problems of duct leakage and further to determine what kind of certification program would need to be made available to our trained professionals to help with this situation.