Flex Duct Vs Sheet Metal Duct

Flexible ducts are made out of corrugated plastic often wrapped in insulation.

Flex duct vs sheet metal duct.

Metal ducts are more rigid due to the nature of steel making them ideal to build an entire hvac system. I am not hating on metal pipe but flex duct is more practical in many applications. Flexible ducts are fairly easy to install and will often cost less than the rigid ductwork. In comparison to metal duct flex duct is easier and faster to install.

Here are the itemized costs for the most common types of ductwork and supplies needed to complete installation. Sheet metal ducts are less likely to incur dangerous mold and growths because their surfaces are non porous and smooth. Their shape and size also allows them to be installed in locations that would not accept full sized sheet metal ductwork. Some sheet metal air ducts are lined with an external or internal fiberglass duct liner.

Also i think spider webs are more likely to form in metal versus flex. I don t know why but i have taken metal pipe apart to find a lot of crud which i don t think would live in flex duct. Fiberglass lining is used to insulate air ducts from heat loss or to avoid condensation in cases where the supply air is very cold or there is a high ambient humidity in the plenum. In this video i ll make a case for going back to rigid metal ducts for your trunk lines and keeping your flexable ducts to the last 10 or less of a.

While sheet metal ductwork tends to be a better long. Flex ducts are better for existing trunk and branch heating and cooling systems. I have seen many leaky metal ducts in crawl spaces as well. This is because they re more versatile and flexible.

Cost of installation supplies.