AboutJ Cook Expertise With 25+ years experience, I am familiar with residential, commercial, and industrial HVAC equipment including but not limited to boilers, chillers, reciprocating and screw compressors. I am trained in all manners of control wiring.
Experience I currently have three HVAC licenses and Refrigeration license by the State of North Carolina. I have been in this field for over twenty years. I have been a service technician for a contractor and also worked at a state college in the repair and maintenance of steam lines and equipment. I am currently the Building Maintenance Superintendent for a municipality.
Question We live in Southern Calif. Our house has no AC/Furnance. We are having a new HVAC system installed. We have no attic. Ducts will be installed in crawlspace. One HVAC contractor states he will install with solid alum flex duct w/R-6 insulation. Another HVAC contractor says we must insist on galvanized steel ducts to prevent rodent intrusion. Are we better off with the alum flex or galvanized steel? Pros/Cons?
Thanks for your input.
Teresa
Answer With the ducts in the crawl space, I would opt for the solid metal instead of the flex. Also be sure the ducts are externally insulated. Internal insulation will gather dust and externally insulated the ducts will last a lifetime. There is not much comparison, as solid ducts are far better than flex ducts. Thanks J
