Aeroseal Duct Sealing Key to $37,000 Annual Energy Savings for New Jersey High Rise Apartment Building

Energy Auditors Specify Duct Sealing Technology to Help Low-Income Housing Complex Qualify For State’s Weatherization Assistance Program
Aeroseal Duct Sealing

Centervill, OH (PRWEB) December 07, 2011 -- A 23-story high rise apartment building in Camden, New Jersey has reduced its utility bill $37,000 a year by replacing dampers and sealing leaks in the building’s exhaust duct system with Aeroseal – a new duct sealing solution developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. By sealing the leaks, Aeroseal helped reduce by more than 217,000 kw/hours the amount of energy required by the building’s two exhaust fans. This results in an annual cost savings of about $34,000. An additional energy savings of an estimated $3,000 a year was accomplished through increased heating efficiencies resulting from the aeroseal duct sealing process.

The Northgate II high-rise apartment building – a Section 8 community - began undergoing energy efficiency upgrades with funding from New Jersey State’s Multifamily Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). To qualify for this funding, an energy audit of the entire 308-unit apartment building was performed and a course of action was determined. Among the various requirements outlined in the final project plan, the independent auditors specifically specified the use of the aeroseal technology to effectively seal the duct leaks that existed throughout the building’s exhaust duct system.

“Our multi-family building specialists have a keen interest in ventilation systems and the wasted energy that often results from leaky ductwork,” said Don Casper, auditor for Steven Winter Associates. “Through our ongoing experience with aeroseal technology, we’ve come to including the aeroseal process as a standard recommendation when leaky duct systems are a concern.”

Aerosol Sealing System
A diagram of the Aeroseal sealant technology. | Image courtesy of Aeroseal LLC

Aeroseal is a unique duct sealing solution that seals leaks from the inside of the duct system. Applied as a non-toxic aerosol mist, Aeroseal is pumped throughout the interior of the ductwork, where it accumulates and bonds around the various gaps and leaks throughout the system until they are permanently sealed.

Aeroseal was developed by scientists to address the critical energy-waste issues that result from leaky air ducts. It’s estimated that 60% to 80% of U.S. homes and buildings suffer significant energy loss due to leaky air ducts. Information from the U.S. Department of Energy’s website states that Aeroseal can save Americans $5 billion a year on saved energy costs.

In some cases, these energy savings are realized through more efficient heating and cooling. And while this was true to some degree for the Northgate II apartment complex, most of the energy-savings provided by Aeroseal in this instance were the result of a dramatic increase in the efficiency of the building’s ventilation system.

“Preliminary testing revealed fairly large gaps throughout the building’s vertical exhaust ducts,” said John Ambrose, McDonald Building Company. “The Aeroseal process fixed that problem and in doing so, helped to significantly improved the efficiency of the building’s two exhaust fans. Aeroseal technology played a significant role in helping reduce energy consumption and ultimately meeting the requirements of the State’s Weatherization Assistance Program.”

For more information about the Northgate II weatherization assistance project or about Aeroseal, go to http://www.aeroseal.com.

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