Certified Duct Sealing in Northern Virginia

What Is Certified Duct Sealing?

It is an Underwriters Laboratory (UL) Certified patented process called Aeroseal and is supported by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Aeroseal is the only recognized duct sealing process available that seals the ductwork for new construction or in your existing home or commercial building from the inside. We seal all of the duct work, to prevent air leakage, even the inaccessible duct work behind walls, under floors and in attics are sealed. The patented Aeroseal diagnostic air duct system sealing process is the most effective, affordable, and viable method of sealing the central heating and cooling ductwork in your home or business.

The Aeroseal process won the “Best of What’s New” award from Popular Science magazine, and the “Energy 100” award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE also rated the Aeroseal duct sealing process as one of the 23 most beneficial technologies available to American consumers that have come out since the agency was created.

What Is Duct Work?

Ductwork is what distributes the conditioned (heated, cooled and filtered) air throughout your home or commercial establishment.

Why Should I Get The Duct Work Sealed In My Home?

The U.S. Department of Energy and the Electric Power Research Institute determined 25% to 40% of the heating and cooling energy put out by heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems…is lost through the duct system.

We at Comfort Solutions, Inc. have been seeing duct leakage averaging 40% -50% in residential homes in our area.

Duct sealing saves energy and is cost-effective (depending on the length of time you plan to be in your home). In our experience we have seen a more even distribution of temperature within the home.

Why Should Ducts In Commercial Buildings Be Sealed?

Duct sealing in commercial buildings is cost-effective, saves energy, improves air and thermal distribution (comfort and ventilation), and reduces cross contamination between different zones in the building (i.e., smoking vs. non-smoking, bio-aerosols, localized indoor air pollutants).

Are You Going To Destroy My Home Or Office?

Absolutely not. The Aeroseal process allows us to seal the ductwork from the inside. However, from time to time, we may find a duct system that will not seal because a duct is disconnected behind a wall or above a ceiling. Should this occur, we will discuss the options with you to address the problem. In many cases, we can run a video camera into the duct system and pinpoint the break that needs repaired.

How Does The Aeroseal Process Work?

The first thing we do is a duct cleaning to rid the ductwork of all debris. Next, Comfort Solutions’ Aeroseal team begins by removing all the supply registers (these are the openings in the floor and wall that the conditioned air comes out) and return grills (these are the openings usually on the wall that allows the air to go back to the heating and cooling equipment to be conditioned) in your home. Once all the registers and grills are removed, we plug all the openings with a special foam material. While part of our team is plugging the registers and grills, other team members will begin setting up the sealing equipment and the computer that calculates the amount of duct leakage.

A hole will be cut in the supply and return ducts to hook up the sealing machine. Once all of this is completed, we will calculate the amount of leakage in your duct system (average duct leakage we have been seeing range between 40% – 50%). After we establish the leakage amount, we begin the sealing process. Anywhere there is a void in the duct work, like a vacuum to pull the sealant to the hole. The sealant will then build onto itself until the hole is blocked with sealant.

Is The Sealant Material Safe?

The sealant material consists of a water-based solution (65% water) prior to application. The dried sealant material primarily contains two chemicals, vinyl acetate polymer (VAP) and 2-ethyl-1 hexanol (2E1H). The vast majority of what is left in the duct system is VAP, which has been used in water-based paints, adhesives, chewing gum, and hair spray and has no OSHA Exposure Limit. 2E1H is a common industrial solvent and is not considered toxic by OSHA.

A review of the literature showed no ill effects after long-term exposure to concentrations of 200 parts per million. The largest concentration of 2E1H measured in test houses during the sealing process was 1 part per billion (200,000 times smaller). Additional testing by UL showed no signs of mold growth or erosion.

How Long Will The Aeroseal Last?

The Aeroseal process is guaranteed for ten years. Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory tested the performance of Aeroseal seals for 4 years under accelerated conditions which simulated a ten year usage span, and observed no failures.

We believe in offering products and services that we feel are beneficial to our customers. We strongly believe that Aeroseal is a winning service…even in new construction!

Please do not hesitate to contact us to set up an Aeroseal appointment by calling 703-COMFORT/703-266-3678.

Personal Testimonial- Mr. Jones (the president of Comfort Solutions) had his home sealed in 2003 and recently had a video camera scope sent into his ducts and there were no signs of deterioration.