When the efficiency of an HVAC system is discussed, proper ductwork is often overlooked. But at the AHR Expo in Las Vegas, it was discussed plenty at the Johns Manville booth.
One of the products Johns Manville was showcasing was the LinacouSTIC® RC-IG, a flexible, fiberglass duct liner with a non-toxic, water-reactivated adhesive layer for easier, cleaner, and quicker duct liner installation on sheet metal, according to the company.
The company’s flame-attenuated technology yields a very controlled, fine fiber characteristic that results in a fiberglass core. This ensures consistently high performance and easy processing on a wide range of duct fabrication equipment, according to the company. Building occupants benefit from less unwanted noise and more consistent temperatures for improved comfort.
“It eliminates the need for glue in the duct liner installation and instead uses water,” said Kelsey Vaughan, senior marketing specialist at Johns Manville. “It is cleaner, quicker, and easier. There is also a lot of cost savings.”
Johns Manville was working to shine a light on a sometimes forgotten part of the HVAC industry.
“We are trying to drive sophistication with these products as well. We are trying to educate the attendees on evolving codes, which play a big role. Codes continue to be a lot more stringent in certain areas of the country. We have products that help people with that,” Vaughan said.
Spiral ducts also continues to be a trend moving forward in the HVAC industry. At the booth, the company was showcasing their Spiracoustic Plus. This product is a spiral duct liner system engineered to provide acoustical and thermal performance for spiral air duct interiors with an airstream diameter of 6 inches and larger. Spiracoustic Plus delivers significantly improved acoustical and thermal performance compared to double-wall construction, all at a competitive cost for the system, according to the company. It is manufactured with evenly-spaced kerfs to allow the material to conform to the inside diameter of spiral ducts, producing a finished airstream surface. This surface is coated with their proprietary Permacote coating, and the exterior surface is laminated with a tough fire-resistant FSK facing.
“The industry is certainly seeing more and more of that,” Vaughan said. “It really makes it very easy to insulate.”
