What level of insulation should the return duct for air returning to central A/C have compared to air supply?
Question:Return air duct is on roof (20' run) in La Paz BCS MX lots of 100F days. Local Trane dealer just brought new ducts without any interior duct insulation and the exterior F/G batting 1.5" is skin tight on the corners. Does the return normally get lower level of insulation on new install?
Answers:
On indoor return ductwork there is no need for any insulation. The temperature of the return air is roughly equal to the temperature of the space the duct is in. However, on outdoor ductwork its a different story. Local building codes would dictate how much insulation, but most likely it would be the same as the supply duct.
Yes sometimes it gets less.
Hawaii we put the same on both. But we are just trying to get the job done.
They both need the same amount of insulation.
You need insulation on both supply and return air.
The return air duct if uninsulated adds to the heat load the machine is trying to overcome, why would you want to add to the heat load? On hot days the heat absorbed by the returning air would be an enormous contribution to the struggling A/C unit.
The more insulation the better.
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