Ductwork is an important part of a homeowner or business owner’s ventilation system. Just like the other parts of the acronym HVAC (heating and air-conditioning), the ventilation in a building has more consequences than just the moving around of hot or cold air to different parts of the building; There is air quality as well, and energy bills.

HVAC stands for heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning and it’s the first and last parts of the acronym that get the most attention. Heating is a process by which air and water is heated through the home. This is true of heater systems, such as tanks, which raise the temperature of air and water.

Heating impacts numerous functions within the home. They include the dishwasher, the washer, and the water in the bathrooms, such as the water from the faucets and the water in the shows. Without hot water, taking showers would be uncomfortable and it would be difficult to make dirty dishes clean with 100% eradicated bacteria.

Heating is also important during those long winter nights when the temperature dips below freezing level, causing the house to become cold. Heating makes houses comfortable in terms of temperature, and performs a wide variety of functions during the winter months, even helping to keep pipes in the house from freezing.

Air-conditioning has an equally important role in the home. Air-conditioning provides cool air during the summer and approximately 60% of U.S. households have air conditioning. The summer months can be difficult in many states and can lead to a rise in temperatures and humidity. Air-conditioning cools all of that off and helps to add comfort to a home.

Ventilation is probably the least mentioned part of an HVAC system. Heating and air conditioning are so obviously important; however, ventilation has its own important functions to perform in an HVAC system within a building or a house. Ventilation controls air flow and moves air around the building or house. It controls air quality.

Ventilation applies to everything involved the workings of moving air around the house. It applies to the vents, it applies to the ducts, it applies to the shafts. All three are crucial to producing sound, effective air quality for a person’s respiratory system. They work in tandem to distribute cool or warm air throughout a home.

The air shafts are important in a building or home where air is being distributed by the air conditioning system or the heating system. The air shafts control which air is being distributed to which location. This can lead to some unsavory results if the air comes out of one particular vent.

In a typical house, about 20% to 30% of the air that moves through the duct system is lost due to leaks, holes, and poorly connected ducts. That has serious ramifications for someone’s energy bill, as the energy bill might rise a certain percentage if the air ducts and shafts are leaking.

Today, there are two major types of ducts: spiral ducts and rectangular ducts. A spiral duct is an air duct in the shape of a spiral, which travels throughout the house behind the walls to deliver air through air vents into the various rooms in the home. The spiral duct has many positive qualities.

The installed cost of a spiral duct, including product, parts, labor, warehousing, transportation, packaging, and waste disposal, can be considerably less than a rectangular duct, often up to 50% less. That is significant savings on a piece of equipment that is very beneficial to a household.

Oval ducting is very similar to spiral ducting. Oval ducting, like spiral ducting, maximizes the space needed to move the air around the home or building. In oval ducting, the ducts are built like ovals, which may or may not spiral, their shape being the most important factor. Oval ducting is convenient and inexpensive.

Rectangular ducting has been around for a number of years and has been used in homes for at least 50 years. Rectangular ducting has certain advantages but it also has detriments when compared to spiral or oval ducting. Rectangular requires extra spacing at each joint, which is not a consideration with spiral or oval ducting.

The air ventilation system is important within a home. It can save or cost money.