Retrofitting Heat Ducts in a Basement

Homeowners may sometimes not give due credit to retrofitting their heating duct work to allow for maximum efficiency. But this is a mistake, as ducting problems can lead to massive inefficiencies in your home's heating system and cause energy costs to rise out of control. In a few simple steps, however, you can retrofit your heating ducts in the basement to make them more efficient.

Mastic sealant or metal tape
Rigid fiberboard insulation

Instructions

- 1
  Seal openings in all duct work that runs through the basement. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, heat loss in duct work can degrade the efficiency of your heating system by up to 35 percent. The first and most important way to prevent this from happening is to use mastic sealant or metal tape to seal all openings in your basement duct work. Never use duct tape to seal duct openings.
- 2
  Insulate the ducts using rigid fiberboard insulation. After sealing all openings in the ducts, the next step to preventing heat loss through the ducts is to install insulation directly over the ducts. Insulate ducts to an R-value of R-2 to R-11, depending on local climate.
- 3
  Remove obstructions in front of heating vents. Having sealed and insulated your duct work, it is important to remove any furniture, boxes, clothes and any other obstructions in front of heating duct vents, since this is another common cause of heating system inefficiency. All these retrofits taken together can lead to an observable improvement in the efficiency of your home heating system.

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