Ductwork is the mechanical system that distributes air through all rooms of your home. The steps listed below will give you a basic understanding of how your ventilation system works.
- Your furnace/air conditioner turns on to temper the air to the desired temperature set at your thermostat.
- Air enters the supply trunk line (the large rectangular metal box that extends overhead across your basement or crawlspace). Much like a tree trunk, the supply trunk line is the main distribution for airflow, attached to the trunk line are numerous smaller ventilation lines called supply lines.
- Supply lines enter the numerous rooms within a home distributing the conditioned are through air vent registers.
- Airflow circulates within each room to temper the air to the desired temperature.
- Air is drawn from each room into return air vent registers (the larger vent registers typically located on the walls) to return lines, which attach to a return trunk line.
- The return trunk line returns the air to the furnace/air conditioner filter.
- The filter removes contaminants from the air and is drawn into the furnace/air conditioner.
This cycle of airflow continues until the temperature of air reaches the set temperature of the thermostat.