Duct Insulation

Ericjeeper

I have a question? Do you have another heat source in your basement? The way I see it.. any heat that emits from your current ductwork will in turn help to heat your floors above, and also add a little heat to the basement/plumbing.

Paul_44

Duct Insulation

I need to insulate hot air ducts in my basement. What type if insulation can I use?

JackFre

Another thing to consider

Mkae sure you get some duct seal (water based or silicone) to seal the seams in your ductwork. You will be best off if the air is delivered where it is designed to go. To the insulation question, you could use Duct wrap insulation. It is a vinyl faced fiberglass. When properly and neatly installed it looks good on the duct. You local HVAC contractor can fix you up.

Brad White_22

Jack's point is your first course of action

Absolutely seal the ductwork as thoroughly as possible, both lateral and longitudinal joints, screw holes and double on corners where slips and drives meet. I specify Hardcast products but there are others. They go on with a disposable paintbrush.

Duct leakage is forever and never gets better.

Seize the opportunity before you wrap the ductwork, absolutely. As Jack says, you want the air to go where you want it to go.

Consider this: Say you have 10 percent leakage (somehow considered "acceptable" in some circles) and you want to recover that for use at your registers by increasing fan RPM/airflow. You will pay over a 30 percent horsepower penalty. (Horsepower varies with the cube of flow from a given starting point. Pressure increases by the square.)

That is the most expensive CFM you will deliver, that last 10 percent.