Responsibilities of an Air-Conditioning Duct Design Engineer

Create Proper Ductwork Plans

• Air-conditioning ducts are created to transfer cold (or hot) air from the central system to the various rooms in a structure. Optimally, these ducts should be in every living area of the house, including living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms. Transitional rooms, such as hallways and foyers, are less important.

Minimize Pressure Drops

• Air moves from the central system to the ducts due to a pressure difference created by the fans of the central system. Because of this, the ducts must be sized in such a way as to minimize the pressure drop created by the movement through the ductwork. If the drop in pressure is kept small, the air is pushed out of the duct stronger and the rooms are cooled faster.

Insulation

• If a duct is exposed to an unconditioned environment, such as an attic or a crawlspace, the duct should be insulated against outside influence. For example, any ductwork you run through one of these spaces should be composed of insulated ductwork, or basic ductwork covered with thermal insulation.

Keeping Costs Down

• An engineer must also try to design a duct system that is as inexpensive as possible to create. Since 85 percent of the duct design cost is labor, the main way to cut costs is to reduce labor. Well-designed ductwork will keep labor down and costs low.