Building America Case Study: Duct in Conditioned Space in a Dropped Ceiling or Fur-down, Gainesville, Florida (Fact Sheet)

Forced air distribution systems (duct systems) typically are installed out of sight for aesthetic reasons, most often in unconditioned areas such as an attic or crawlspace. Any leakage of air to or from the duct system (duct leakage) in unconditioned space not only loses energy, but impacts home and equipment durability and indoor air quality. An obvious solution to this problem is to bring theduct system into the interior of the house, either by sealing the area where the ducts are installed (sealed attic or crawlspace) or by building an interior cavity or chase above the ceiling plane (raised ceiling or fur-up chase) or below the ceiling plane (dropped ceiling or fur-down) for the duct system. This case study examines one Building America builder partner's implementation of aninexpensive, quick and effective method of building a fur-down or dropped ceiling chase.