Home Depot Central Air in Arlington – What Is a Furnace Duct?
A furnace duct is used to distribute and deliver heat to various parts of a building or home. It is a component of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning design that develops in shape and placement with the need of circulating air throughout a structure.
Ducts are generally made of metal and plastics, and they may be placed below the floor substructure, above the ceiling drywall, or suspended with brackets from the ceiling itself. Most often a furnace duct, or ductwork, is connected from a furnace, which is the central heating element providing the heat.
It is typically important to maintain seals at each segment of ducting. Pieces of ductwork often are joined together from furnace to vent and can be of different shapes to accommodate the corners, curves, and levels, or floors, of a structure. Even a straight path from furnace to vent is often too long for one duct alone, although in smaller spaces this can be accomplished with support bracketing along key points.
At the end opening of a furnace duct, there is usually a wall, ceiling, or floor cutout covered by a grate. There are usually several of these exit points where heat is blown into rooms of a building in the system coming from the furnace. Ventilation attached and sealed at ends of ductwork may then be controlled by opening and closing the grate. Controlling heat flow in this way, and by ensuring that the insides of the ducts remain clean and unobstructed, completes the delivery of air from source to rooms via the furnace ducts.
