Installation of ducts: diagrams, instructions

When building a house or upgrading it, it is necessary to install ductwork. To live without ventilation is quite problematic, as it allows you to create a pleasant microclimate in the room, to provide residents with high-quality air. Agree that relaxing and working in a ventilated room is much more pleasant than in a stuffy one.

The body always lacks oxygen, various pathogenic bacteria do not multiply, and most importantly, a person does not have a feeling of lack of strength. But in order to make proper ventilation, it is necessary to make calculations of all air ducts. It is also imperative to select components for each room and perform their installation.

If you cannot perform the calculation and installation yourself, contact a specialist. After all, people who design and manufacture such systems often will be able to do all the work quickly and efficiently - their hand is already full. But you will have to pay for these services. If there is a desire to save money and learn something new, feel free to start manufacturing ventilation.

What are the criteria for choosing ducts?

First, we’ll talk about how to make the right product choice. Indeed, the installation of ventilation ducts depends directly on the specific types of nodes used. But for a choice, you must definitely get acquainted with the information about the features of all types of ducts, their shortcomings and advantages. All ducts can be divided and classified according to three main parameters:

1. According to the material of manufacture (plastic, metal).
2. By design features.
3. By type of section.

Pay attention to what possibilities the dimensional grid has. Most manufacturers of components for ventilation systems adhere to the current GOST:

1. Diameter in the range of 100-2000 mm.
2. In length no more than 20 meters.

These parameters are basic, but when designing a ventilation system, characteristics such as:

1. Cross-sectional area.
2. The thickness of the walls of the duct.
3. Perimeter value.
4. Maximum hydraulic pressure.

It is rather difficult to calculate these characteristics on your own - it is better to contact specialists. According to the set conditions, they will be able to select the most suitable elements for ventilation.

Duct Designs

There are only two types of duct construction that are put into practice. If you plan to do the installation of air ducts with your own hands, you need to adhere to the recommendations of specialists. But the most important thing is to choose the right type of structure so that it not only fulfills its functions, but also blends harmoniously into the interior of the room.

By design, the following types of ducts are distinguished:

1. External - are installed on the walls. They are made in the form of attached or hanging boxes. The assembly of such systems can be carried out from shaped elements with different cross sections, shapes and lengths of air ducts. During installation, first of all, you need to carefully develop the scheme according to which the installation will be carried out. At the same time, the architectural features of the building are taken into account - external attractiveness should not be affected. And air circulation should be as intense as possible.
2. Recessed air ducts are used when installing the system inside brick or concrete walls. Such designs have one feature - the inner surface of the channels is ideally smooth, which allows air flows to move inside more freely. In the air ducts, technological holes are necessarily present through which periodic cleaning is performed.

What materials are ducts made of?

Depending on the material from which the components are made, the installation of the duct system differs. As a rule, light materials are used for the manufacture of such structures - because the channels must be fixed to walls or ceilings.

And heavy structures are much harder to hold. Standard set of materials for the manufacture of ducts:

1. Metals Usually it is stainless or galvanized steel, aluminum-based alloys. Regardless of which metal is used, the duct has a high degree of strength, fire resistance, and corrosion resistance. Moreover, the metal components are flexible and durable. But the last parameter is directly affected by the quality of the metal or alloy. As for the cost of products, the cheapest ones are galvanized. Aluminum will be more expensive, but its resource is slightly higher.
2. Plastic. Such ducts are made on the basis of polypropylene. And this is such a material that has high strength, low weight, it is environmentally friendly and resistant to various liquids. But when installing rectangular plastic ducts, one drawback must be taken into account - with mechanical stresses, the risk of deformation becomes higher. In addition, plastic products have a very low temperature threshold.
3. Polymeric materials are suitable for the manufacture of flexible ducts used in ventilation systems. Corrugated pipes are also made from such compositions. To make the channels as rigid as possible, use steel wire or aluminum. Such reinforcement is able to hold the entire structure and prevent it from deforming. Elements from polymers can be used both independently and in combination with metal or plastic. But when installing flexible ducts based on polymers, it is necessary to take into account the fact that the parts have a fairly large aerodynamic drag. In addition, they emit a lot of noise during the operation of the system. Ideally, flexible ducts are installed in small (especially hard-to-reach) areas. Usually they make bends and branches.

Type of duct section

When installing galvanized ducts or plastic, the main thing is to choose the type of section. The following types are available:

1. Rectangular and square. They are used in order to harmoniously decorate the interior of the premises. The decision to install such structures is justified if the ceiling height is not very large. But there is one drawback - the manufacture of air ducts and their installation will take a lot of time and effort. It is also necessary to take into account the fact that during the operation of rectangular ducts, high aerodynamic drag is observed.
2. Absolutely in any ventilation system, round ducts can be used. Installation of air ducts according to SNIP can be carried out from such elements. They are practical, they have very low aerodynamic drag. In addition, they are very convenient to mount, and during operation there are no difficulties.

Now that you know all the features of the ducts, you can go directly to the installation. No difficulties will arise if you have all the necessary tools and materials.

The installation process of ventilation ducts

Installation of ventilation is a very serious matter, and you need to approach it with all responsibility. Comfort depends on the quality of work when people stay in the house. Ventilation also has a significant effect on health. Before starting all work, preparation is necessary. The installation process is as follows:

1. The calculation of the ducts. Moreover, the more competent it is made, the more effective the system will work in the future.
2. The most suitable type of component connection is selected. There should be no gaps, crevices.
3. The type and total number of shaped elements that are installed additionally are determined.
4. The correct duct design system is chosen. You can install additional heat and sound insulation. But this will require additional investments, so if you want to save money, discard these materials. True, there are times when it is impossible to refuse the use of insulating materials. This can be read below.

Duct insulation

Now it's time to decide whether additional insulation is needed for the ducts.

Our recommendations will help you make the right choice:

1. There is a need to make insulation if the duct is mounted outside the building or in a room that is not heated. So you get rid of a large number of problems - in particular, from accumulations of condensate on the inner surface of the ventilation system. This will prevent the appearance of fungi and mold in the house. After all, ventilation is done in order to rid the house or apartment of these troubles.
2. Noise isolation is carried out if air ducts are laid in such premises: work offices, home offices, children's rooms and bedrooms. Depending on the goal, the method of noise isolation is selected. It is also necessary to take into account the degree of comfort and design features.

As you understand, there are several ways to reduce the noise level. But which one is better to apply? It all depends, of course, on the specific conditions and financial possibilities. We can distinguish the most popular types of noise insulation of ventilation ducts:

1. It is allowed to use parts with a large wall thickness or an enlarged section. But this can only be applied if ventilation is installed in spacious and huge rooms. In this case, the total cost of all components will be quite large. Thin-walled have a lower price.
2. Installation of special anti-vibration elements - various fans, dampers. It is possible that this will require changing the layout of the entire ventilation line. The duct will have to be mounted a little differently.
3. Winding pipes of the ventilation system with various noise-insulating materials, especially porous show themselves well. This is the easiest and cheapest way to install noise isolation, only the appearance suffers, and quite severely. In most cases, additional decoration of the ventilation ducts is required.

How to choose additional parts

Each case is individual, so the use of additional elements will depend on the specific situation. Moreover, you can use various amounts and types of elements.

You can highlight such details that are needed for the installation of ventilation ducts:

1. Crosses.
2. Bends.
3. Tees.
4. Umbrellas.
5. Sidebar.
6. Ducks.
7. Stubs.
8. Transitions.
9. Throttle valves.

In the event that you yourself are not able to determine the number and type of parts that are needed specifically for the implementation of your project, contact specialists. As a rule, sellers in stores that sell ducts and parts for them have enough knowledge to help you make the right choice. You will only need a plan of the entire structure.

How to calculate duct parameters

Regardless of whether plastic or metal ducts are being installed, certain requirements must be adhered to. The sequence of work must also be followed. The most important step is the calculation of the parameters of the air channels. You now need to decide how much air needs to be supplied to each room or room.

When installing plastic or galvanized ducts, this can be done in one of two ways:

1. Be sure to consider the total number of people who are constantly in the room. To do this, you can use a simple formula: L = N * L _NORM . Let's write this formula to find out what letters mean what. Here L is the required system performance. N is the number of people living in the room. And L _NORM is a standard that shows what is the norm of air consumption by one person per hour. For example, in a state of sleep and rest, we consume 30 m ³ / h. And if you are guided by the SNIP, then this figure is twice as high - 60 m ³ / h.
2. You can use the following formula for calculations: L = n * S * H. In it, L is the productivity indicator (measured in cubic meters per hour), n is the normalized value of the multiplicity (assumed to be 1-2 for residential rooms and 2 -3 for office). H is the height of the ceilings of the room, and S is the area in square meters. Before installing the air duct for the kitchen hood, it is also necessary to carry out similar calculations so that the "bad" air leaves the room as quickly as possible.

It is desirable to perform the calculation immediately using two formulas, after which the highest value is selected. But if you do not want to bother, you can take the average values ​​of the ventilation system performance:

1. For an apartment or a separate room, you can take a value from 100 to 500 m ³ / hour.
2. For private houses and cottages, it is desirable to take a productivity equal to 50-2000 m ³ / hour.
3. For offices, this value should vary between 1000-10000 m ³ / hour.

When you count this parameter, you can proceed with the installation of the ducts. Plastic or metal - it's up to you. It depends on the capabilities and requirements for ventilation ducts.

Installation of round ducts

In total, there are several options for fixing the air ducts of the circular ventilation system. Please note that the installation methods for round ducts are slightly different from installing rectangular ones. And all these methods can be implemented during the construction and modernization of buildings.

Three main methods must be distinguished:

1. A nipple or coupling is the most common type of arrangement of ventilation spans. Sealing of these channels can also be done using such methods. The bottom line is that you need to connect two separate segments of the same duct using the third additional element. Moreover, this part can be mounted both outside and installed inside. It all depends on the specific situation.
2. Flange is also one of the popular methods for connecting structural elements of ducts. If you look at the design features of the flanges, you can see that these are small rims with which the ventilation elements are connected. Moreover, the fixation can be carried out using screws, spring mechanisms. The second option makes installation much easier, and the degree of sealing is quite high. Additionally, details are not required to be fixed. But there are also mandatory conditions - there must be flanging on the components of the duct. Without this, you are unlikely to be able to install ducts for the hood in the kitchen. All work is not much different from installing ventilation in office premises. Unless the scale is much smaller.
3. Less commonly used is a type of connection called a bandage. In this case, a device is put on over the duct at the flanged ends. This installation method is very cheap and easy to implement, it is able to guarantee a high degree of sealing. But the production of the bandage itself is not only a labor-intensive process, but also an expensive one. It is because of the high cost of production that the bandage is not widely used.

Using such methods, it is possible to mount round ducts. Which one to choose is up to you. When installing the air duct in the kitchen, be sure to consider all the features of the furniture and room. The main thing is that the appearance does not suffer. Pipes should not be evident, they must be hidden.

How to fix rectangular ducts

And now about how you can install plastic ducts or metal rectangular cross-section.

For sealing, usually used:

1. Flanges. This is the most common type of mount. As precisely as with circular ducts, fixing the flange is crucial. Otherwise, a slight subsidence of one of the sides or insufficient tightness of the connection will be observed. To fix the flanges, either rivets or spot welding are used.
2. Tires This connection part is similar to the flange. But she has an additional tightening lock and gasket made of porous tape, polymer or rubber tow, foam. It is imperative that all corners and gaps be treated with sealants. And the sealant must be chosen, given the aggressiveness of the external and internal environment.

Please note that it is necessary to immediately distinguish two mounting methods for metal ducts - by welding or by folding. And the installation of galvanized steel ducts can be carried out using such methods. True, galvanizing welding is a difficult task, the use of folds will be much more effective.