Ducts in the Attic? What Were They Thinking?
Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Type: Special Report
Overview | Download
As energy-efficiency efforts focus increasingly on existing homes, many construction decisions made decades ago seem inefficient, including duct location in the attic. This analysis focuses on the impact duct location has on cooling load, peak demand and energy cost in hot climates. For example:
- Locating ducts in attics rather than inside conditioned space increases the cooling load from 0.5 to 1 ton
- Locating the ducts in the attic instead of inside increases cooling costs by about 15 percent, and demand by 0.75 kilowatts
- By locating ducts in conditioned space, most of the air leakage and thermal losses of the distribution system goes into cooling the living space
- Relocating ducts to conditioned space reduces peak demand
Explore how to best relocate your duct system from the attic, and save money and energy.
Top results from Trends / Statistics
Designing and Building a More Sustainable Home How to Buy an Energy-Efficient Ground-Source Heat Pump Change the World, Start with Energy Star Event Toolkit Carbon Footprint of Single-Family Residential New Construction Own Your Power! A Consumer Guide to Solar Electricity for the Home Top results from Indoor Air Quality
Healthy Climate Whole-Home Dehumidifiers
Paints: A Green by Design Buying Guide Environmentally Friendly Household Cleaning Products Green Chemistry at Work: Leading California Businesses Demonstrate How to Make Products Safe from the Start IAQ and Children's Health - Protecting Children's Health 
