Aeroseal opinions?

Sailah

I've been doing quite a bit to my circa 1815 Federal (4100 sq-ft) in MA this year. Air sealed the exterior and up in the attic, dense packed the walls and blew in cellulose to get 18" in the attic. Vapor barrier in the basement.

So I'm at the stage where I am deciding on new equipment. I have 3 furnaces in my house. One end of the house has its own system and it is fairly new. The main, older, part of the house has 2 furnaces, each with about 1400 sq-ft to heat. The windows are single pane with storms but due to historic (hysteric) district I am unable to replace them, nor would I want to.

One contractor came over and I was impressed with his ideas and thoroughness in explaining all the details to me including a number of things I had not even considered. He did a Manual J and shared it with me. His opinion was to replace the 2 1970s furnaces (105k & 130k BTU) with a single 60k 2 stage variable speed unit and motorized dampers. Which was what I was hoping he would say. I was surprised at the size of the reduction I might add. We discussed and he was very confident in his numbers and he came very highly recommended from people I trust at Gas Networks. I had a couple other contractors just want to replace like for like with barely a reduction in BTUs.

So to the question. The duct work is probably from the 70's or 80's. Seems solid but I have no way to tell. He is an Aeroseal contractor as well. Normally I'm skeptical of such things but as I get older I get less cynical lol. Any biased or unbiased opinions of the effectiveness of Aerosealing? I hate to get all that fancy new equipment running at peak efficiency compared to the beasties I have and then suffer with poor ducting. Because I just had the attic done with blown in insulation I'm kinda stuck with what's up there.

Thanks, appreciate your thoughts.

Peter

Bob Bona_4

Haven't heard anything negative. I will say that I'm mulling over the process on new installs. The increased labor costs to meet latest energy code/duct pressure test seems to exceed the typical charge to aeroseal. I know of some outfits going this way already.

GW

I hear that if your ducts have some gushers you could pump some of the mystery goop into the house.

If you're dropping that many btu then yes, get sealed up.

keyote

dont know about that product but i can tell you i run huge jobs hospitals office towers and theres layers and layers of suits that have to witness our tests 4" water guage is now routine and 6" is done a lot of the time to fail a test an 1/8" hole in an entire office tower floor of huge duct is all it takes so basically zero is what they are insisting on, return air is just as important youre probably losing half your air

Sailah

Interesting. I'm leaning towards it. I've thought about it with my older ducting and it makes sense to my brain. Im going to ask the contractor to manually seal first or maybe I'll go down there myself and get some of the easier stuff done before he gets here.

Thanks

BLB

I think the question "does aeroseal work?" has been answered via a multitude of studies conducted by the D.O.E., EPA, LBNL and a variety of third-party testers (the answer is definitely Yes). So now the question is, "do you need it?" The computerized aeroseal process begins with a pre-test that should show you exactly how much leakage you have. The Department of Energy found that most ductwork in existing homes leak 20%-40%, which would make sealing a great investment. Another thought is to check the output at vents around the house. Are there rooms that never get enough heat? That's a good sign of duct leakage and something the aeroseal technology will most likely solve...without having to tear up those historic walls to access the duct system.

Sailah

Thanks Brad

GW

I would think basic balancing is the biggest reason for certain rooms getting low flow

Sailah

I honestly haven't really evaluated the heating performance. We've been in the house for a full year, I knew I was going to be doing the work this fall so I didn't get into it last year, was a hectic winter.

The contractor I am using seems very conscious of venting and return air, in fact we spent most of the 2 hours he gave me discussing the fact my return registers weren't in an optimal location. We discussed as part of the project relocating those.

The heating last year could best be described by panting and shivering. I'm very hopeful that the new system will not only deliver more efficiency but comfort achieved through optimizing all the components, balancing included.

I will be putting my FLIR to very good use this fall as the cold sets in to find areas that need improvement.

BobC

Peter, even if you can't replace your windows you can make the ones you have very good with good weatherstripping. Consider putting spring bronze weatherstripping on them, if you live close to the harbor you'll be glad you did when the noreasters come calling.

Probably the best thing you can do is to seal every penetration between the living space and the outside you can, Air infiltration is your worst enemy when it comes to heating.

Bob

Sailah

Thanks Bob,

I've been debating what to do with the windows. Part of me wants to throw up some interior storms and just not open the windows. Many don't even open anyways. Run the AC if it gets too hot

I want to see how it feels after doing a bunch of work including air sealing and new equipment. We went through last winter with it like it was and it was OK. I'm nervous about making it too tight.

GregWeiss

@Sailah Peter, first off thank you for the awesome big mouth vents! I got a price to aeroseal my house and it was almost 2x as much as I paid to install my 96.5% carrier furnace. Seems like the payback period would be a very long time. I had to pass.

Greg

Sailah

Hi greg,

Thanks about the Big Mouth, appreciated.

The contractor doing the work is pretty reasonable Def not the ratio you had.

Looking forward to a well running system. Even if it's forced hot dust.