How to Use Foam Board for HVAC Ducts
HVAC stands for "heating ventilation and air conditioning." It is the industry term for the heating and cooling system in your home. Most modern HVAC systems are forced air, which means they have a central heating and cooling unit that forces air from the central unit out to the home's rooms through a series of ducts. The ducts are often just rectangular sheet metal tubes with no insulation. If the ducts are running through your home where heat loss is irrelevant, the bare ducts are fine; however when running ducts through garages and crawl space, heat transfer is undesirable. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Tape measure
- Utility knife
- Duct tape
- Steel support straps
- Screws
- Screwdriver
Instructions
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1
Measure the width and height of the duct work with the tape measure.
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2
Cut two strips of foam board the length of the duct work and a width equal to the height of the duct work using the utility knife. These pieces will be placed upon the sides of the duct work.
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3
Cut a strip of foam board the length of the duct work and with a width equal to the duct work's width plus two times the thickness of the foam board. This piece will be placed on the bottom of the duct work and will need to overlap both side pieces to form an insulation box.
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4
Set the two side pieces on their edges on the top face of the bottom piece at the opposite edges. This will form a long rectangular trough which will be fitted over the duct work.
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5
Run a strip of duct tape along the inside and outside edges between the side pieces and the bottom piece. This will prevent air from flowing between the duct work and the outside space.
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6
Hold the insulation up to the duct work; run a strip of duct tape between each side of the insulation and the ceiling to temporary hold the insulation in place, and to prevent air flow.
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7
Run a steel support strap over the bottom of the insulation; secure it to the ceiling using the screws and screwdriver. You should place a support strap every 6 feet; any runs over 2 feet in length require at least two straps.
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References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
