The cycle then repeats, with freshly conditioned air being sent back out through the supply ducts. The expended air travels the length of the return ducts and back to the HVAC unit, where it is filtered and heated or cooled again. Expended air that has lost its heating or cooling energy is brought back into the system by return ducts. The conditioned air enters rooms and areas in your home, where it heats or cools your indoor spaces as appropriate. The conditioned air travels the length of the ductwork and exits from vents attached at several different termination points. The HVAC unit produces heated or cooled air that is blown into the supply ductwork by powerful fans. Your HVAC equipment creates, at the simplest level, a large air circulation system that continually refreshes the supply of heated or cooled air that maintains your home’s indoor temperatures. Without ducts, this conditioned air would have no way to travel throughout your home. The duct system is essential to making sure heated and cooled air gets into your indoor spaces. Ductwork is the system of large pipes or tubes extending from your main HVAC equipment to points throughout your home. The basic function of ductwork is to provide a distribution network for the heated or cooled air that comes from your furnace, heat pump or A/C. The following brief introduction to ductwork design can help you understand how ducts affect heating and cooling systems, how they work with your HVAC equipment to maintain indoor comfort, and how they can improve heating and cooling efficiency while reducing your monthly costs. The ductwork system that extends from your central furnace, air conditioner or heat pump is a vital component of your HVAC system, and its design has a significant impact on the efficiency and performance of your heating and cooling equipment.

When it comes to HVAC equipment and the systems that heat and cool your home, the concept of design affects not only the comfort level in your living spaces, but how much you pay to maintain that comfort. From the simplest device to the most complex system, design affects function.

Heat pump duct work