San Jose Building Performance Ordinance and California Benchmarking: Where Duct Sealing Fits

If you own or manage a San Jose commercial or multifamily building of 20,000 square feet or more, the City expects you to report energy and water use every year and, on a five-year cycle, to show efficient performance or take improvement steps. This guide explains what the City and the state ask for, as…

Read More

Exhaust Shaft Sealing: Why Vertical Exhaust Risers Leak and How Aerosol Sealing Fixes Them

If you manage an apartment building, condo community or hotel, the vertical exhaust shafts that pull air from every kitchen and bathroom are probably leaking into the walls around them. That leaves weak fans on some floors, odors moving between units and roof fans working harder than they should. This guide explains why shafts leak,…

Read More

Case Study: Three Systems, One Home, 92% Less Duct Leakage

If your home has several HVAC systems, each one can leak differently and gain differently from sealing. This case study covers a Bay Area home with three systems serving the bedroom wing, the kitchen area and the garage side, jobs M-04, M-11 and M-15. Combined leakage dropped from 962 to 81 CFM25, a 92% reduction,…

Read More

Case Study: Sealing Both Systems in a Two-Story Home Nearly Doubled Airflow

If your home has one system upstairs and another downstairs, both can leak, and both can leave rooms short on air. This case study covers a Bay Area home where MaxSeal sealed both systems, jobs H-03 and H-13. Combined leakage dropped from 1,034 to 172 CFM25, and register airflow rose 93%, from 1,371 to 2,647…

Read More

Case Study: 182% More Airflow After Sealing a Severely Leaky Duct System

If your vents barely push air, the cause may be leaks you can’t see. This case study covers one Bay Area system, job H-04, that delivered only 238 CFM (cubic feet per minute) to its registers before sealing. After Aeroseal, it delivered 670 CFM, a 182% gain and the largest in MaxSeal’s 38-system data. Here’s…

Read More

Aeroseal vs. AeroBarrier: Duct Sealing vs. Whole-House Air Sealing

You’ve seen two similar names from the same company, Aeroseal and AeroBarrier, and you want to know which one your home needs. Both use a sealant mist carried by pressurized air, but they seal different things. Aeroseal seals the inside of your duct system. AeroBarrier seals the shell of the building itself. ENERGY STAR estimates…

Read More

Is Aeroseal Worth It? Honest Pros, Cons and Payback for Bay Area Homes

You’ve heard Aeroseal can fix uneven rooms and high bills, and you want to know if it’s worth $3,000–$3,500 for your home. The honest answer is that it depends on how leaky your ducts are and where they run. For some homes it’s one of the best upgrades available. For others, a cheaper fix or…

Read More

Air Balancing vs. Duct Sealing: Which One Fixes Uneven Rooms First?

If one bedroom stays hot while the living room feels fine, you may have been told your system needs air balancing. Balancing can help, but it only divides up the air that reaches your rooms. If your ducts leak, a large share never gets there. In MaxSeal’s data from 38 Bay Area systems, sealing first…

Read More

Ducts in the Crawl Space: Common Problems, How to Check and How to Fix Them

If your home has a raised foundation, there’s a good chance your heating and cooling ducts run through the crawl space under your floors. Out of sight, those ducts can come apart, get crushed, lose insulation or be damaged by rodents, and you only notice through cold rooms, high bills or a musty smell. MaxSeal…

Read More