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Aeroseal Airduct
Research & News

(All of the ductwork quotes and links below are from
independent sources including some of
the world's top airduct and energy research institutions.)

Videos

Homeowner, Geraldine Jimenez, Seals Her Ducts (American Institute of Physics New Item)


See our sealing process in action (Short 2MB).

How Aeroseal Works
(Full 10-minutes 15MB)
 
Many people view these videos online by:
1. "Right-clicking" on the link
2. Selecting "Save Target As"
3. Clicking "Open" when downloading is complete.

(Get Quicktime Player)

Ducts/Duct Sealing - Technology Options
Flex Your Power (2005)
"Aerosol sealant, or Aeroseal, is a patented technology that utilizes tiny particles of sticky material that are blown through your duct system and attach themselves to the edges of leaks. This technique can save enormous amounts of time by allowing leaks to be sealed in places that are hard to reach or cannot be seen."

Duct Systems in Southwestern Homes: Problems and Opportunities
Larry Kinney (April 2005) U.S. Department of Energy / Midwest Research Institute National Renewable Energy
"Retrofits tend to be more complicated than sealing in new homes, but the Aeroseal technique has the advantage of sealing ducts in inaccessible areas."

6 Brilliant Megawatt Ideas - Innovation No. 1
OnEarth (Mar 2004)

"Innovation No. 1 ... Lawrence Berkeley researchers, led by Mark Modera, devised a new aerosol sealant technique using a vinyl polymer, which reduces the leaks by 90 percent. A technician simply covers up a home's air vents and then blows a "fog" of the sealant through the ducts. The fog pushes into holes and cracks, plugging them with the polymer particles. Unlike traditional sealing methods -- think duct tape -- the aerosol method allows workers to catch leaks that would normally be inaccessible. Modera and his colleagues brought the invention to market through a company called Aeroseal."

Breathe Easy - 4 Steps to Cleaner Indoor Air
USA Today (Feb 2004)

"If you have a forced-air heating system, have the air ducts cleaned and sealed internally ... To have your ducts sealed, go to aeroseal.com."

Mr. Fix-It' with tips that'll help you breathe easier at home
NBC Today Show - Interview by Al Roker (Jan 2004)

"When [Aeroseal is] completed your home will be more evenly tempered and your energy bills will be less.  But it also improves your indoor air quality. By sealing the leaks, dust and dirt that can be sucked through the return line is also reduced."

Improved Duct Sealing
ASHRAE Journal (Oct 2003)

"Nothing is certain but death and taxes - and perhaps leaky ducts."

House too hot and stuffy? Problem may be the ducts, not the air conditioner
Sacramento Municipal Utility District (June 2003)

"Summer is heating up and homeowners can lose an average of 20 percent of their cooling through leaks in the ductwork during peak cooling periods. Sealing that deficient ductwork can increase the overall efficiency of the air conditioning system and reduce cooling costs by 20 percent or more. The average home, whether it's new or old, can lose up to half of its heating or cooling capacity through cracked and leaking ductwork.

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is offering a $300 rebate to customers who seal their ducts with Aeroseal®, a duct repair method that uses advanced technology to find and tightly seal ducts. Aeroseal® is a relatively simple and effective way to conserve energy and reduce energy costs. The rebate has been increased by $100 from last year. With SMUD's rebate to qualified customers, it's an investment that can pay for itself in energy savings in just a few years. Additionally, SMUD offers financing to qualified customers."

A Cool Way to Save Money
ABC30-ActionNews (September 2003)

"The average homeowner spends about $1,300 per year on energy costs, but did you know that a leaky air duct system in your home could cause up to 20% of those energy costs to be wasted?

Scientists have a new way to seal your air ducts that could help keep runaway air from leaking out. Temperature problems in your home can sometimes be the work of leaky air ducts — a major waste of energy. Some experts say the traditional ways we seal them up, using duct tape or caulking, aren't very reliable. Now, mechanical engineers at a government lab have come up with a way to seal up air ducts more tightly. It's called Aeroseal."

HVAC: Duct Sealing (Wisconsin Public Service Corporation)
(2003)

Duct Sealing Calculator (BC Hydro)  
(2003)

Duct Sealing (UPPCO)  
(2003)

Carrier Aeroseal Licenses Second Lab Duct-Sealing Technology
Today at Berkeley Lab (April 28, 2003)

"Carrier Aeroseal LLC, a subsidiary of Carrier Corporation, recently signed two new licensing deals that will enable it to use Berkeley Lab aerosol duct-sealing technology in commercial buildings as well as residences.

Research by Lab inventor Mark Modera and colleagues has shown that leaky ducts are responsible for an average of 20 per cent of all heating and cooling energy waste in U.S. homes. The Electric Power Research Institute estimates that duct sealing procedures could result in annual energy savings of up to $300 per home, resulting in national savings of approximately $30 billion for residential sealing alone. Carrier Aeroseal already has over 70 franchises for performing residential sealing, and thousands of homes have been sealed to increase comfort and decrease energy loss."

Aerosol Duct Sealing Comes to Large Commercial Buildings
Green Building News (October 2003)

"Carrier Aeroseal has licensed the system for exclusive use in sealing ducts in commercial buildings.  Modera and colleagues developed the aerosol-based technology for sealing the ducts of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems in residential and small commercial buildings in the 1990s. Their research showed that homes with ducts in contact with outside air in the United States wasted on average 20 percent of all heating and cooling energy because of leaky ducts. They pioneered a system that could seal these ducts remotely and inexpensively, using an aerosol that is injected into the ducts through the heating register in a home. The aerosol flows through the system, gradually building up a flexible seal at holes, tears, and other duct leaks."

The Potential for More Efficient Electricity Use in the Southwest
Hewlett Foundation Energy Series (November 2002)

"Duct leakage in forced-air distribution systems represents one of the largest energy losses in residential and small commercial buildings (Modera 1993). Duct leakage can add 20-30% to heating and cooling energy use. Houses with basements typically have losses of about 20% and houses with vented crawl spaces or other areas where ducts are outside the conditioned space have losses of about 30% or more. [Duct sealing] savings are typically 15-20% of heating and cooling energy consumption (Neme, Proctor and Nadel 1999)."

A New Comfort Remedy
Built Green® Articles (July 26, 2002)

"This time of year the airwaves are filled with ads urging you to get your ducts cleaned. Your ducts are your home's lungs, they say, so why wouldn't you clean them? Yet if comfort is a problem in your home, its more important to seal your ducts than it is to clean them up.

Virtually every home's ductwork leaks. According to LBNL, typical duct systems lose 25 to 40 percent of the heating and cooling energy put out by the furnace or air conditioner. Field observations by contractors working with Energy Rated Homes of Colorado generally support LBNL's claim."

Do a Spring Cleaning on Your Energy Bills
The Street.com (April 2002)

"For those who want a perfect seal in hard-to-reach places, EPA's Rashkin recommends a brand-new product called Aeroseal, which seals ducts from the inside out, just as the sprays used for flat tires do."

Billions in Lost Energy Leak Out of Home Heating and Cooling Ducts
The New Environmentalist (March 2002)

"Happily for Californians, the technology to seal ducts within the attic, walls, and basements of their homes already exists. No, not duct tape, which has been proven to be ineffective at sealing ducts, but rather an aerosol sealant mechanism that seals ducts from the inside, like the stuff you put in your carís radiator to seal leaks."

Carrier enters Duct Sealing business
(April 1, 2002)

Weatherization Test Drives Spray Sealant Home Energy Magazine Online (Nov/Dec 2001)

"Until recently, duct-sealing methods have not gotten enough attention from building scientists. Aerosol spray sealant offers a relatively new way to seal ducts--one that is becoming commercialized in some parts of the United States (see "Aerosol Spray Technology"). One advantage of this technology is that it reduces diagnostic and repair times, because the location of small leaks does not need to be visually identified, and wall, ceiling, and floor cavities do not need to be opened to gain access to the leaks. Aerosol spray can seal small or unreachable leaks that cannot be sealed in other ways."

Las Vegas Contractor Tackles Leaky Ducts
IAQ News (Oct 2001)

"WHY TAPE DOESN'T WORK - For three months, LBNL researchers tested a variety of sealing materials -- many kinds of duct tape, clear plastic tape, foil-backed tape, mastic, and injected aerosol sealant -- under conditions similar to those encountered in installed hvac systems. Of all the products tested, only duct tape failed. In fact researchers said that "It failed reliably and often quite catastrophically."

Field Test of Advanced Duct-Sealing Technologies within the Weatherization Assistance Program
HUD User (Nov 2001)

"The [DOE] field test was performed in five states: Iowa, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The study found that, compared with the best-practice approach, the aerosol-spray technology is 50% more effective at sealing duct leaks and can potentially reduce labor time and costs for duct sealing by 70%, or almost 4 crew-hours."

Duct Sealing Technology Tested in Washington Homes
Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (December 1999)

"'One of the problems with ducts is too often you run into spaces you can't get at,' said Dave Finet, housing services director for Bellingham-based The Opportunity Council. 'This is a great application for those places you can't reach manually.'"

"Up to 30 percent of a home's HVAC energy can be lost through duct leaks, and the national bill for this problem
amounts to about $5 billion a year, according to U.S. secretary of energy Bill Richardson in a news release
announcing the testing program."

Lawrence Berkeley Lab Sparks 2 Energy Saving Discoveries
(September 1998)

Not Your Daddy's Duct Sealing Method
Home Energy Magazine Online (Jan/Feb 1998)

"In new homes and older homes, significant amounts of energy can be saved simply by paying close attention to how a duct system is installed and what materials are used in the installation. Research from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) shows that the average new home has duct losses of up to 400 cubic feet per minute of air loss ..."

Sealing Duct Leaks Saves Energy and Money Oak Ridge National Laboratory (1998)

"According to Mark Ternes of ORNL's Energy Division, 'Ducts that pass through unconditioned spaces—attics, garages, or crawl spaces—have a good chance of losing energy. Losses can be very high if the ducts are uninsulated. Even when the ducts are wrapped with insulation, leaks at joints and corners can be big energy losers.'"

For more about aerosol duct sealing technology, visit http://epb1.lbl.gov/aerosol/

For an older archive, see:
http://www.infiltec.com/inf-abdl.htm