No Cost Duct Sealing Offer
Have your home’s ducts sealed for free when you participate in this research study.
Duct sealing can help your home retain conditioned air, reduce energy costs, and improve indoor air quality.
Energy Trust of Oregon is conducting a study to evaluate the benefits of duct sealing for qualified homes. In this study we will identify eligible homes and seal their ducts for free. We’ll then measure the impact of duct sealing on the home’s energy use and utility bills.
If your home qualifies for the Duct Sealing Research Study, an Energy Trust approved contractor will locate and repair duct leaks at no cost to you, a potential value of up to $1300.
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Establish Your Eligibility
To participate in this study, your single-family home must be located in Oregon and have a functioning heat pump or gas furnace utilizing a duct system that is located at minimum 50% in unconditioned space (like an attic or crawlspace). Manufactured homes are not eligible.
You must have electricity provided by PGE or Pacific Power (heat pump customers) or have natural gas provided by NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas or Avista (gas furnace customers). You must be the homeowner and primary resident and have 12 months of continuous electric and/or natural gas bill history.
You must agree to the terms and conditions set out in the study, including sharing meter energy usage data with Energy Trust.
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Apply
Interested applicants should fill out the eligibility survey. Once this application is completed, you may be contacted to schedule:
- An over-the-phone or virtual site review
- An in-person site assessment conducted by an Energy Trust representative to further evaluate the home for study eligibility.
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Site Review with an Energy Trust Representative
A phone/virtual site review and an in-home assessment are required to fully verify study eligibility and to collect important home characteristic data before the study begins.
If the Energy Trust representative deems your home eligible, they will help you schedule a site visit with a participating contractor.
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Site Visit with Participating Contractor
A qualified contractor will visit your home and perform duct sealing. There is no charge to you for the assessment or installation.
Ineligible customers may be eligible for other Energy Trust offers determined during the in-home assessment stage.
Qualified participants will receive duct sealing valued at up to $1,300.
| Incentive | Requirements | |
|---|---|---|
| Duct Sealing Study | Up to $1,300 |
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Duct sealing services performed through this offer may include any of the following: sealing gaps/connections along the duct system with duct-approved mastic and/or HVAC metal repair tape, reconnecting loose or detached ducts and repairing/replacing limited portions of duct insulation.
Sealing your ductwork can help trim your energy costs, reduce indoor air pollution and help increase comfort at home. Leaky ducts also force heating and cooling systems to work harder than necessary to bring the home to the desired temperature, potentially shortening the lifespan of the system.
There is no cost for approved participants. Energy Trust will pay all costs, including installation, for participating homes.
“Duct leakage” refers to the air unintentionally escaping or entering the duct system through gaps and holes. This is particularly problematic when the ducts are traveling through unconditioned areas of the home (e.g. attics, crawlspaces, garages). When air is traveling through the supply ducts that are delivering heated or cooled air throughout the home, leaky ducts allow this air to escape before reaching the intended area of the home. When air is traveling through return ducts back to the heating/cooling system, duct leaks will pull air from unintended areas into the system that will eventually get circulated back into the home through the supply ducts.
While customers will likely see lower utility bills, it is difficult to predict the exact impact of the duct sealing services. This will depend on the starting & ending measurement of duct leakage, type of heating/cooling system and percentage of the duct system located in unconditioned space.
After reviewing your pre-application, we will email you an acceptance or denial notification. Applicants not accepted into the study will receive an explanation email informing them they do not qualify and offering information about other resources that can help. If you receive an acceptance email, we will contact you soon to set up a time for a phone screening and an in-home visit with an Energy Trust representative who will verify that your home is a good fit for the study.
Yes. Referrals are welcomed. Interested participants should review the eligibility criteria listed above, and follow the steps to submit the eligibility survey.
For this study, we are looking at homes that meet the customer and home criteria referenced above. If you feel you should have qualified, please call us at 866.311.1822.
No. This study is limited to site-built homes. If you have a manufactured home, it may be eligible for free duct sealing and duct repair.. Visit the Free Energy Tune-up for Manufactured Homes page for more information.
The Energy Trust representative will be at your home for approximately 2-3 hours to perform a duct leakage test and review the condition of your home’s duct system. A duct leakage test includes the following:
- Setting up a fan in one of the main exterior doors
- Covering each of the air registers in the home with tape
- Connecting a second smaller fan to the duct system
- Pressurizing the inside of home by blowing air into the home through the fan located at the exterior door
- Pressurizing the inside of the duct system by blowing air through the fan connected to the ducts
- Measuring the estimated duct leakage through readings from instruments connected to the fan and duct system
In order to perform this test, the Energy Trust representative must have access to all registers as well as any areas where ducts may be located, including attics and crawlspaces. If furniture is covering a register, customer must make reasonable efforts to move the furniture prior to the time of the site visit.
No repairs will be made during the in-home assessment. Following your in-home assessment, we’ll determine if your home qualifies for the study.
You can contact us at DuctSealingStudy@energytrust.org with your name and address letting us know you would not like to move forward with the installation.
While we prefer that customers do not enroll in the study if they have plans to move or perform major renovations in the next 12 months, we understand that life happens and that such circumstances might arise unexpectedly. If this is the case, please contact the study team at DuctSealingStudy@energytrust.org and let us know about your plans so we can properly account for these changes in the study results.
Please contact the study team first at DuctSealingStudy@energytrust.org with any general questions or concerns about the operation of your duct system.
Following your in-home assessment, we’ll determine if your home qualifies for the study. If selected, we will coordinate installation with one of our participating Trade Ally contractors.
By participating in this study, you agree to allow Energy Trust to access your meter energy usage data via your utility provider(s). Energy Trust will use this information to determine if the duct sealing strategy implemented provides the expected level of energy savings. We will not share or use your data outside this study.
You may call Energy Trust’s main number at 866.311.1822 or email DuctSealingStudy@energytrust.org to ask any questions or verify information about this study.