Q&A: All things duct sealing with Aeroseal

This story was written in partnership with Aeroseal. Learn more

90 percent of U.S. homes suffer from leaky ductwork, according to the Department of Energy, creating comfort issues that lead to costly callbacks. Given the setup, I spoke with Aeroseal’s Jarrod Scott about the growing demand for duct sealing, its biggest misunderstandings, and how contractors can leverage it as a competitive advantage. 

Below is our conversation, lightly edited for clarity. 

At a high level, can you give me some color on the problem Aeroseal is solving?

The big thing is that systems are designed, rated, and have a performance level on them. But there’s typically no performance rating done on a retrofit. In new construction, there are codes, but that doesn’t mean a brand-new system is going to perform very well if, for instance, it’s attached to a problematic, leaky duct. So homeowners are fighting this problem of obtaining maximum comfort in their homes. 

How do you tie that into your day-to-day conversations with contractors?

We often hear from contractors that they’ll get new-system callbacks, not because the equipment isn’t working — it’s working fine — but because the homeowner expected it to solve a problem area. In a two-story home, it’s common for the second floor to be uncomfortable. So one way we connect with contractors is by getting into repairing ductwork. 

The Department of Energy estimates that over 90 percent of homes have excess duct leakage, with an average of 33 percent leakage per home — a third of system capacity is lost or not getting to rooms, and that’s a problem. So, preventing those callbacks is extremely helpful there. 

There’s also a competitive advantage to sealing ducts with new installs, where comfort advisors can show homeowners that their ducts are leaking, explain the differences before and after, etcetera. 

By repairing the ductwork, the overall experience and satisfaction of home comfort — room to room and level to level — is greater. The customer feels great about their decision to choose the contractor that provided the sealing, and there’s a great chance of getting referrals and great reviews.

What gets lost on contractors during those conversations?

One of the biggest is that contractors think they’ll have to spray sealant through the system — the cabinet, coils, and everything — and that’s just not true. There’s a way to cut an access or injection point where you connect the system, but you can also block it off so no sealant enters the cabinet. 

Another one is that people think if you seal and do a duct cleaning afterward, you’ll knock out the sealant or pull it all out. But it doesn’t. It stays there. 

And the last thing I’ll say is, “It’ll make a mess in the home.” But again, through the hundreds of thousands of seals done by our dealer network over the years, we’ve found that it’s just simply not an issue. 

Are there any high-level or economic factors driving demand for duct sealing, particularly over the next few years?

When you have systems designed for a certain load, during peak summer, it can be pretty tough to handle, especially when you have leaky ducts, which ultimately lead to reduced system capacity. So, I’d say a combination of extreme weather in parts of the country, along with nearly every state and region experiencing increased energy costs. 

In Ohio, and I may be off a tad here, while the average cost has been around seven cents per kilowatt hour (in 2023), it’s jumped to 12 to 15 cents in some areas. That may still be relatively cheap compared to other parts of the country, but on a percentage basis, it gets your attention when you get that first bill, especially in the summer. 

You made a point on competitive advantages earlier. Can you elaborate on that?

It’s two-fold. There’s a great opportunity for new changeouts — for contractors to say that they’ll include duct sealing as a needed repair, and, when financed, it won’t add much to the monthly cost, but it’ll deliver a lot more to the homeowner. 

But there’s also an opportunity to attach and run it through tune-ups and IAQ/duct cleaning, especially for companies with a lot of memberships. Meaning, as shoulder season comes around, and dealers start checking furnaces and doing cleanings, you can point out performance issues with ducts, and it just becomes something that’s integrated.  

This story was written in partnership with Aeroseal. Learn more