Your home’s HVAC system comprises various components that work together to ensure that your home’s indoor air quality is safe and healthy.
To make ductwork genuinely efficient in your home, you’ll need to select and install the proper size.
This article will describe how to make the best choice possible in terms of duct size and why it is important to have an ideal duct size in your HVAC system.
CHOOSING THE CORRECT DUCT SIZE
There may be a few details about your house that you’ll have to know to determine the right size of ducting for every given area.
Room Dimensions
The first of these is the size of the room. You’ll need the square footage of the entire house to estimate the size of your HVAC system, but you’ll also need the square footage of each room to determine the size of ductwork required for each space.
Cubic feet per minute (CFM)
Additionally, you’ll need the system’s cubic feet per minute (CFM) capacity. Each room will require a specific velocity of air to be transported through the ducts to heat or cool it.
Every room has a CFM value that corresponds to the size of the ducts that need to be installed. You can use the average output of the HVAC unit and the room sizes of your house to determine the size of ducts required for the entire house.
Duct friction
Finally, you must understand duct friction. As air passes through the ductwork, it loses energy and velocity due to friction. The more distance the air has to go and the more twists it makes, the slower it will exit the vent into the room.
While you could approximate this, it’s usually best to get a professional to assess the system and offer an estimate. If you want to calculate it manually, duct friction = available static pressure divided by the total effective length.
METHODS USED FOR DUCT SIZING
Most modern ducts are sized using one of these three approaches. Constant velocity, Constant pressure drop, and static regain. Each of these techniques of sizing is quite basic. Additionally, they all include a little size alteration.
Constant Velocity
With this approach of sizing, ducts are designed such that the velocity is constant throughout. Additionally, you can define a minimum ductwork velocity.
When this is done, the duct is initially sized to match the size of the duct immediately preceding it. The duct’s velocity is measured. It remains unchanged if it is between the highest and minimum velocities.
A new size is selected only when the velocity drops below the minimal value. By selecting this option, the frequency of transitions throughout the ductwork is reduced.
By selecting this option, the frequency of transitions throughout the ductwork is reduced. As a result, the more air in a duct sized for a particular pressure drop, the faster the air moves through it.
Constant Pressure Drop
With this sizing method, ducts are sized such that the pressure loss rate is constant throughout the duct. As the air grows, the duct size must expand proportionately to maintain the same pressure drop.
However, the size of the duct does not grow at the same rate as the air volume. As a result, the more air in a duct sized for a particular pressure drop, the faster the air moves through it.
Static Regain
Static regain is the least frequently used method of duct sizing. It is often used to size the VAV system’s medium and high-pressure ductwork.
Static regain works by gradually decreasing the velocity of air flowing through the ductwork as it travels from the fan towards the diffusers. The objective is to have a steady static pressure and pressure decline entirely due to velocity pressure.
However, when the ductwork runs are too long, or the initial velocity is too low, the velocity finally reaches zero, and there is no longer any velocity pressure. The ducts get extremely large in these instances.
By establishing a minimum velocity, this problem is avoided. Once the minimum velocity is attained, the ducts are not enlarged further. The ductwork is sized at the runs’ ends using the constant velocity approach rather than the static regain method.
WHY IS DUCT SIZE CRITICAL?
When buying a new air conditioning unit, your HVAC sales consultant will almost certainly emphasize how critical it is to purchase the correct size unit for your home.
Select an insufficiently sized system, and it will operate for extended periods, battling to maintain the desired temperature in your home.
Selecting one that is too large may result in low air pressure in your home, a short cycle, and significant energy waste. Finding the ideal balance requires intense effort to achieve the best results.
What if the ducts are extremely large?
Larger ducts imply increased airflow, correct? Not always. While your ducts may be bigger and capable of carrying more air, this does not guarantee your HVAC system is capable of pumping that much air into them.
Your HVAC system relies on a particular amount of air pressure being created in your duct network to push air into the different rooms of your home. And this could result in complications with the treated air being delivered to your home once it is generated.
Consider water running through a hose. If you connect an industrial-size fire hose to a standard garden tap, you’ll spend what feels like an eternity waiting for the garden tap to spit out that much water to fill the fire hose and eventually begin flowing out the nozzle end. There is insufficient pressure to overcome this.
As a result, your Conditioning system will work continuously for hours on end, producing a big amount of cold or warm air that you will never feel enter your home due to the inability of the system to drive the air down the excessively wide ducts.
This not only drains energy (and money), but it causes your cooling systems to run longer, increasing the likelihood of failure.
What if the ducts are extremely small?
On the other hand, excessive pressure in the ducts is also undesirable. When your HVAC system pumps air into the duct system, and the ductwork is too narrow to accommodate the volume of air being driven through, the air eventually backs up in your system.
It creates more resistance on your blower fan, making the system extra hard to operate. This considerably increases the stress on your air compressor, causing it to lose additional energy and substantially increasing the chances that it may fail, forcing you to call for an expensive repair.
Consider this scenario: insert an ordinary drinking straw between your lips and attempt to breathe through it. It’s now significantly more difficult.
This is because the straw lacks the essential capacity to accommodate the rush of air that the lungs are attempting to pull in or push out.
Additionally, you’ll notice that when you exhale, the air that exits your ducts at a considerably faster rate. The same is true for the HVAC system: improperly sized ducts can force air to jet out of your vents, generating drafts and air currents throughout your home.
While modest currents are typical, stronger ones can cause papers to fly and valuables to blow over. Additionally, you may create an air pressure differential between the interior and exterior of your home, which may result in undesired door banging and even undesired air loss through every little gap in your windows and doors.
DUCK SIZING TIPS
A few factors should be considered when sizing HVAC ducts, whether for a commercial or residential facility. First, ducts should be sized according to the HVAC system’s capabilities and not the way around. Below are duct sizing guidelines:
- Use an HVAC Duct Size Calculator – Using a Duct size calculator is the simplest approach for determining the correct duct size for your room. The calculator may generate measurements based on a variety of inputs, including velocity and diameter. Take note that the duct’s width is proportional to the size of the space being warmed or cooled.
- Measure the Size of The Rooms – One of the most critical measures for duct sizing is the size of your rooms. These figures indicate the quantity of air that your HVAC unit must disperse around the house. Accurately measuring the square feet of each room will serve.
- Determine Each Room’s Cooling and Heating Requirements – Not every room is created equal. Certain places receive more natural sunshine and, as a result, require less heating capacity. Similarly, commonly utilized areas such as the living room and kitchen may require the entire attention of your HVAC system. The cooling and heating requirements vary according to the size of the room. Add these figures together in your final calculations, as this figure determines the duct’s diameter.
- Secure Duct Connections – Ducts are your heating and cooling system’s unsung hero, is the interconnections between your pipes. Securing your joints will go far towards improving your energy usage. If your property has complicated or out-of-date ductwork, this is often a job best left to professionals.
EFFICIENCY OF AIR DUCTS
With these numbers in hand, you can utilize an online calculator or chart to determine the duct size that will be required. However, to ensure that your ducts continue to operate effectively over time, you’ll need to take extra procedures.
Since HVAC systems are so delicate, it responds exceptionally well to routine maintenance to keep everything running smoothly.
If your home or HVAC system is older, you’ll have to check for leaks in the ventilation system to maximize efficiency. Inspect each room’s vents and registers to ensure that the areas beneath them are adequately sealed and that there is no leakage at the grille.
Additionally, you can shield ducts to assist air in maintaining their temperature as they move through the house.
Furthermore, it would be ideal if you hired a professional to inspect your property to identify any unconnected ductwork that may be removed to optimize the circulation of the existing system.
Some homeowners may leave branches ducts at a convenient location for potential improvements but vacate the premises before the work is completed.
In this instance, it’s better to eliminate these branches if you don’t intend to use them) to give the remainder of the flow a slight performance boost. All of these measures will ensure that your HVAC system continues to operate as efficiently as possible.
