This hose is an insulated air duct with plies of aluminum foil that are separated with fiberglass duct wrap insulation. The three layers are (1) the jacket is made with silver fiberglass reinforced fabric while (2) the insulation is fiberglass wrap and (3) the liner is spiral aluminum foil duct. This insulated flexible ductwork is made for use as an air conditioner duct because it is insulated. The temperature range of this hose is – 20 F to + 160 F and the flexible ducting is available in 4-inch, 6-inch, 8-inch and 12-inch diameter sizes. All flexible hoses are 25-feet in length when stretched and have a five to one compression ratio. This means the duct is shipped in a compressed state and can expand up to 25 feet when stretched.

Why use insulated ductwork as air conditioning duct? Insulation works because it prevents heat transference into and out of a duct. As a rule, heated air flows from higher temperature areas into areas occupied by cooler temperature air. This movement continues until the temperature of the two spaces is the same. When moving conditioned air through a duct, one way to prevent this is by using insulation wraps around the ducts so that it keeps heat from moving through the duct’s walls. Having an R-value of 6 is a great resource when ducting is used as ducts for air conditioning and the “HVAC Insulated-Flex R-6” has this valued feature. When this air conditioner duct is moving heated air or cooled air through its body, it will reduce heat loss due to its R-value of 6. The thicker and the denser the insulation wrap, the less likely that the temperatures within the flexible ducting can be affected negatively. In general, insulated flexible ductwork operates by adding thick duct wrap that slows down that heat flow from the exterior of the duct into the interior of the hose. Increasing the R-value of the insulation will slow down the heat transfer, since higher R-value ducts have thicker and denser wrapping.

Since the “HVAC Insulated-Flex R-6” is a flexible duct (as opposed to rigid) these are the ideal products for use in tight spaces with many turns and twists. Flexible ducting is always easier and cheaper once installed than rigid ducting. Flex ducts reduce the need for elbows and odd-shaped connectors. This reduces labor hours, material costs, and ultimately lowers the installed cost of the ductwork. Insulated ducts for air conditioning are an energy saving investment which offer returns for up to 15 to 20 years. The marginal cost of insulated air conditioning duct products is most likely returned in the first couple of years of their purchase though lowered energy bills.

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