Although there is almost certainly plenty of visible activity in your home, the real action often happens beyond your normal range of vision: Behind the walls. The systems that are hidden just out of your sight are responsible for making your house as cozy as it is. The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is central to your comfort, and good ductwork lies at the heart of everything. If you aren't aware of the signs that your ductwork isn't operating as it should, read through the symptoms below to determine if you need to give your own ductwork some TLC. 

1. Heating & Cooling Levels Vary By The Room

Disproportionate heating and cooling levels is usually a telltale sign that you need to invest in ductwork installation. The indoor climate could start to vary wildly just by leaving one room and walking into another. This is a very problematic situation that you definitely need to handle before it grows worse.

The ducts in your residence snake all throughout the property and perform the role of delivering air to the central climate-control unit and then pumping it back out once it has been conditioned to the temperature that you've set on your thermostat. When the ducts are fully intact, they can easily pull the air in your home into the unit and pump it back out evenly throughout the space.

As the ducts begin to deteriorate, this process becomes much more difficult to execute. If there are cracks in some of the ducts air can seep out. The air that leaks won't make it into the rooms and those areas will be much hotter or colder than they should be. 

2. Good Ductwork Shouldn't Be Seen

In some older homes, it's not uncommon to actually both see and hear the action of the ducts. The house might have been constructed during a time when building codes weren't as strict. Because of this, the ducts might run along the outside of ceilings or even down the walls.

It's best for ductwork to be just out of view. You wouldn't want to spoil the interior design that you're trying to create due to large, silver ducts that throw your color scheme completely off. Not only that but there's also always the chance that someone could mistakenly damage the ductwork simply because it isn't behind the protective barrier that the wall provides.

New ductwork is typically much more energy efficient and might even work without the loud noises that your old set lets. Call up a ductwork installation specialist and have them come out and create an estimate for new ductwork in your home.