How HVAC Contractors Are Making More Money with Duct Sealing Technology

Summary

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Podcast Summary: How HVAC Contractors Are Making More Money with Duct Sealing Technology

Service Business Mastery for Skilled Trades: HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical Home Service
Host: Tersh Blissett (Skilled Trades Syndicate)
Guest: Jared Scott (AeroSeal)
Date: February 25, 2026
Location: Recorded live at AHR 2026, Las Vegas

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into innovative duct sealing technology, particularly the AeroSeal system, and explores how it revolutionizes energy efficiency, comfort, and profitability for HVAC contractors. Host Tersh Blissett interviews Jared Scott from AeroSeal about how this inside-out duct sealing process is shaking up both residential and commercial HVAC projects, offering new profit avenues, stronger customer satisfaction, and solutions to common ductwork issues.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. How AeroSeal Duct Sealing Works

• Inside-Out Sealing: AeroSeal’s system atomizes a lightly tacky, water-based sealant and injects it into pressurized ductwork, where it finds and seals leaks from the inside.
• Precision & Efficiency: Unlike traditional hand sealing with mastic or tape, this method deposits sealant only at leak points, minimizing material use and maximizing efficiency.
  • Quote [00:00 | Jared]: “It seals it from the inside instead of the traditional hand sealing measures... those [sealant particles] are going to be drawn to just the low pressure point or the leaks.”
• Step-by-Step:
  1. Registers are blocked, HVAC unit isolated.
  2. Equipment runs a pre-sealing duct efficiency test.
  3. Atomized sealant is sprayed inside the pressurized ducts.
  4. Sealant is attracted and binds to leak sites, closing gaps precisely.

2. Distinction From Duct Encapsulation

• AeroSeal is often confused with duct encapsulation but differs fundamentally.
  • Encapsulation coats the entire duct interior (ideal for water intrusion scenarios); AeroSeal only seals leaks.
  • Quote [02:32 | Jared]: “Duct encapsulation would be where you're coating the entire inside... This is good for any kind of ductwork, any region, anywhere.”

3. Sealant Performance and Limitations

• Officially seals up to 5/8" leak size, but works on both many small holes and some larger penetrations.
• Supply ducts can be sealed very tightly; return ducts often see about 60% leak reduction.
  • Quote [04:10 | Jared]: “The system and the sealant, it doesn't know how big the leak is... It will reduce leakage in those larger holes.”

4. Commercial Impact & Regulatory Requirements

• Clean building and LEED initiatives are driving commercial adoption.
  • Building codes now often require duct leakage below 3%, sometimes as low as 1.5%.
  • Tight ducts improve both energy delivery and indoor air quality (IAQ).
  • Quote [05:51 | Jared]: “The tighter, the better on the duct side... That just gets the air where it's going to go and also helps improve your IAQ solution.”

5. Potential Issues: Static Pressure

• Sealing ducts can, in rare scenarios, raise static pressure, but not enough to jeopardize equipment if properly assessed.
  • Contractors should check for existing static pressure issues and plan accordingly.
  • Quote [06:42 | Jared]: “It doesn’t typically raise it into a level where it is going to... negatively affect the equipment.”

6. AeroBarrier: Building Envelope Sealing

• Similar technology is used for whole-home envelope sealing (AeroBarrier).
  • Applied after the first mud coat in new construction, tightens up air changes per hour dramatically.
  • Mechanical ventilation is recommended if a building becomes “too tight.”
  • Quote [09:37 | Jared]: "You want it to breathe mechanically, not through the walls... Where you want it to breathe through the lungs, not through the skin."

7. ROI & Use Cases for Multi-family/Commercial Properties

• Sealing is especially beneficial in apartments and properties with central ventilation to reduce cross-unit odor, energy waste, and to improve compartmentalization.
  • Clear ROI modeling available for property managers.
  • Process is minimally invasive and can be done in occupied units.
  • Quote [11:12 | Jared]: “If you've got the central ventilation, you can absolutely seal that and improve to a degree where you don't have that unit-to-unit transfer of odor.”

8. Material Specs, Curing, and Safety

• Curing Time: Usable within 1-2 hours; sealant is 80% dry when it enters the ducts.
  • Quote [12:16 | Jared]: “About an hour, maybe two hours.”
• Odor: Smells akin to latex paint but dissipates within several hours; air scrubbers are used to mitigate.
  • Quote [12:41 | Jared]: “It will have an odor... smells a little bit like a latex paint... usually within three, four hours, it's gone.”
• Sealant Chemistry: 100% water-based; cures quickly, safer than solvent-based options.
  • Quote [13:47 | Jared]: “It is all water based. With water... it cures really fast. Just has to dry.”
• Fire & Environmental Safety: Not officially fire rated, but has zero smoke and zero flame index—approved for use in strict regulatory regions and federal buildings.
  • Quote [14:15 | Jared]: “It does have zero smoke and zero flame index... we've done a lot of federal buildings... no issues there.”

9. Business Outcomes and ROI for Contractors

• This technology brings a measurable competitive edge—reducing callbacks, increasing customer satisfaction, and opening up new service and maintenance revenue.
• Particularly valuable as the market moves more toward “repair over replacement.”
  • Quote [15:49 | Jared]: “You can make this a competitive advantage... not just around comfort, but IAQ and energy savings for the homeowner.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the science of sealing:
  “This is where the physics comes in. Those [particles] are going to be drawn to just the low pressure point or the leaks.” (Jared, [00:00])

• On market distinction:
  “It’s often confused with duct encapsulation products, and it doesn’t do that.” (Jared, [02:17])

• On the regulatory shift:
  "The tighter, the better on the duct side... That just gets the air where it's going to go and also helps improve your IAQ solution.” (Jared, [05:51])

• On mechanical vs. passive ventilation:
  “You want it to breathe mechanically, not through the walls... Where you want it to breathe through the lungs, not through the skin.” (Jared, [09:37])

• On ROI for multi-family properties:
  “There’s a clear ROI on it. And that makes it clear for everybody... On comfort, in scenarios where you have central ventilation, one of the big initiatives out there is to get things better compartmentalized.” (Jared, [11:12])

• On the competitive advantage for contractors:
  “You can make this a competitive advantage for you... not just around comfort, but IAQ and energy savings for the homeowner also.” (Jared, [15:49])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------|------------| | How AeroSeal Works | 00:00–03:59| | Duct Encapsulation vs. Sealing | 02:31–02:47| | Performance Specifications | 04:10–05:00| | Commercial/Regulatory Trends | 05:00–06:15| | Static Pressure Considerations | 06:23–07:26| | AeroBarrier Envelope System | 07:29–09:57| | Multi-family/Commercial ROI | 10:11–12:11| | Curing, Odor, and Chemistry | 12:11–14:12| | Fire/Environmental Safety | 14:12–15:34| | Business/Competitive Edge | 15:43–17:56|

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Additional Resources Mentioned

• Visit aeroseal.com or drop by their booth at trade shows for demos and case studies.
• Direct contact: Jared Scott, 937-751-3945.

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Conclusion

AeroSeal’s inside-out duct sealing method is quickly becoming a game-changer for HVAC professionals—bringing technical innovation, measurable ROI, marketing differentiation, and a powerful path to improved energy efficiency and comfort for both homeowners and commercial clients.

Contact: For more details or to implement these solutions, visit aeroseal.com or reach out directly to Jared Scott.

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This summary covers all core insights and exchanges from the technical discussion, skipping promotional and outro content to focus on actionable information for trades professionals.

Transcript

[A]

We build equipment, putting it in their hands to deliver to the market by sealing ductwork in a unique way, seals it from the inside instead of the traditional hand sealing measures. But this is leveling up airflow and efficiency. It is very precise. The process is where we block off the register and then isolate the H VAC equipment. We're going to pressurize, do a duct efficiency test first. It gets a starting point. You know, how efficient or rather inefficient the ducts are. It seals then by spraying this atomized or fog of, you know, lightly tacky sealant particles in there. This is where the physics comes in. Those are going to be drawn to just the low pressure point or the leaks. So it's going to deposit on the duct material, build up, stack up, and then close that gap up. So you're not going to use, you know, a lot of sealant material. It's going to be very precise, and it really improves on the comfort and efficiency side.

[B]

Hello, everyone out there, it's me again. I'm back. This is Tersh for the Service Business Mastery Podcast. We are live at AHR 2026 in Las Vegas, and I have Jared here with aero seal. And we're going to talk a little bit about energy efficiency and a little bit about ceiling ductwork and how that affects the homeowner or how it affects the contractor whenever you're talking with the homeowner, and a little bit about commercial as well. But with that being said, welcome to the show.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

Yeah, absolutely. So for those who don't know what aero seal is, can you explain this?

[A]

Sure, I sure can. So, you know, we've been working with the contractors for years where we build equipment, putting it in their hands to deliver to the market by sealing ductwork in a unique way, or maybe not unique, if you know about aero seal, but it seals it from the inside. Right. Instead of set of the traditional hand sealing measures, foil tape, duct mastic, you know, like that, that those sort of materials do a, you know, fine job in some scenarios. But this is leveling up airflow and efficiency.

[B]

So what do you say to people who assume that you're just blowing some sticky stuff in the ductwork?

[A]

Well, you should come and check it out at booth C8132 for sure. But. But, you know, the short answer to that is it is very precise. Right. So, you know, it's not. It's often confused with duct encapsulation products, and it doesn't do that. Right. So the.

[B]

What is that?

[A]

So duct Encapsulation would be where you're coating the entire inside, right?

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

And there's some products out there and certainly some applications where that is the right thing to do. Like you have a water problem, you know, like in slab ducts and things like that.

[B]

Oh, yeah, I didn't think about that.

[A]

Yeah, that could be ideal for product encapsulation. But this is good for any kind of ductwork, any region, anywhere. And it's just going to, you know, we. The process is where we block off the register, our contractors block off the register, and then isolate the H VAC equipment. So the furnace, the air handler gets. No, no seal. It goes in there. Right. And. And then by doing that. Right. It's going to. We're going to pressurize. Do a duct efficiency test first. So the equipment comes with that already built in. It gets a starting point as where, you know, how efficient or rather inefficient the ducts are. It seals then by spraying this atomized or fog of, you know, lightly tacky sealant particles in there. And then this is where the physics comes in. Like we were talking earlier, those are going to be drawn to just the. The low pressure point or the leaks. So it's going to deposit on the duct material, build up, stack up, and then close that gap up. So you're not going to use a, you know, a lot of sealant material. It's going to be very precise, and it really improves on the comfort and efficiency side, how large of a duct

[B]

leakage does it feel? Because you could have like a whole bunch of little tiny holes or you could have like one large hole causing the same amount of air. Air loss.

[A]

That is true. Yeah. So the. The official answer, how it's been tested under independent labs is 5,8 of an inch. Right. Okay. The reality is, is that the system and the sealant, it doesn't know how big the sealant or how big the leak is. So it will reduce leakage in those larger holes. So thinking, you know, if you're in homes where they often will run plumbing and electrical penetrations through the joists. Yeah.

[B]

Between floors.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. So those are. It will reduce that quite a bit. You can run it and keep, you know, seal it down very, very tight. Does take longer uses, more sealant or whatever. So most contractors are going to, you know, get the supply side very tight and then get about 60% of the leakage reduced on the. On the return side more if you don't have those larger penetrations. Got it.

[B]

So you mentioned something about. What was it, New York? Who else?

[A]

Yeah. On the commercial side, there's a. There's a lot of initiatives that are coming out, like clean building initiatives. Right. And so in our commercial division, they're here in the booth as well. So if this strikes with, you, stop by. But, you know, one of the big things, whether it's a Lee project building where they're trying to hit efficiency and, you know, green initiatives on several, several points, it is perfect for that as well. Even whether that's new construction, it can be on renovations as well. Right. So. And getting that duct efficiency down tight is a big part of hitting that. That target.

[B]

So whenever they're doing these remodels or new construction, they're required to have a certain amount of duct leakage or not exceed a certain amount.

[A]

Right? Yeah. The key is to get it. To get it down pretty tight. Right. So typically, again, anybody out there that wants to throw that number out, but it's going to be around, you know, 3%, you know, 1 1/2% in some scenarios. But the tighter, the better on the duct side. Right. That's gonna. That's just gonna get the air where it's going to go and also helps improve your IAQ solution around that as well. Right.

[B]

So answer me here. What about if we have a loose duct system that was like 20 years old?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

It's all metal.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Insulation's okay. And then we seal it up and cause the static pressure to go through the roof.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Have you seen that? Or is there like a warning before we start sealing? Like, hey, if you seal this up, it's going to. Your static pressure is going to be too high.

[A]

It doesn't. The system doesn't give a warning. But I love the question. Right. So we address that with contractors right away. It doesn't typically raise it into a level where it is going to be, you know, negatively affect the equipment or the performance. Right. You don't want that. You don't want to solve one problem and then cause another. Right. But whenever contractors ask that, I love it because that means that they're doing right by the, you know, by the homeowner or by the property owner. Right. So in very rare scenarios, will it. Will I have that effect?

[B]

Got it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Because I've had before where the static pressure was high and I've seen somebody stick a. Just stick a bearable speed blower motor on it.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

And then it's static pressure still high, and then the light builts through the roof and they're like fix one problem cause the other.

[A]

Right, right.

[B]

Yeah. So can you talk any about the encapsulation? The Holman encapsulation?

[A]

Yeah, yeah, for sure. So we have another product. It's the. It's the same premise of sealing ductwork. It's sealing the building envelope. And it's currently done mainly at the new construction phase. So predominantly in single family or. I'm sorry, in residential homes.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

At. At or after the second or first coat of mud. And you know, so when the drywall is up and the first coat of mud goes on, it's an ideal time to. To go in there and it, it does the same thing, but it uses more seal stations. So think of it like this, right. You put, you know, six, eight different seal stations in a home. You're going to tape off the mechanical openings like the windows and doors. You don't want to seal those up. That'd be bad. Yeah. So you're going to tape that off as part of the prep, then using essentially a modified blower door to positively pressurize the home, forcing those particles out. We do the same thing, test beforehand. Right. Measured in air changes per hour. And then the. Those seal stations will then start sealing, start spraying sealant. And it'll drive this sealant into the leak points into the envelope. Right. And measuring it as it goes. So you can get. You can get a fairly rough build or inefficient build down very, very tightly. Right. With this.

[B]

So I know that you're. You are mainly on the. The ceiling side of things. Not. Not necessarily IQ side of things. Have you personally or do you know of research has been done about getting the opposite direction where it's too tight, for sure. Okay.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. So it, you know, you can talk to folks that are really, really smart out there on the building side. Side. Yeah, Right. And everybody has their opinion, but the one thing that everybody agrees on is that. That you want it to breathe mechanically, not through the walls. Right. Sure.

[B]

Control it.

[A]

Yeah. Where you want it to breathe through the lungs. If you want to compare it to a body, not through the skin. Right. So that's where. If you get that building envelope really tight, then you just want to make sure. Yeah. Mechanical ventilation is the right way to go. Right. So depending on how tight you go, depends on what the right solution is for that. Okay.

[B]

Yeah. Is the. I have no idea the answer to this question. And not either. But the. As far as. So we go into like apartment complexes.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And they're between floors and most of the times like Yours is like, if you're in the one apartment, the air conditioning that for your apartment's like, above head inside the Sheetrock.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

You don't want it leaking out and conditioning the apartment above you.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Is it cost effective enough to where it would make sense to seal those up? Because a lot of times it's property management. Yeah. They're going to do like.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

As little as they can get away with. Yeah. As a tenant, like, I want to be breathing healthy air that I can filter properly. Is it worth it for the property manager to do that or.

[A]

Yeah, walk me through that. Yeah, certainly. If they're paying the bill. Right. It is. So. And that's on the commercial side, where we have. We could do estimates on what that improvement's going to be. So there's a clear ROI on it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And that makes it clear for everybody. Right. On what the benefit's gonna be. But to the tenant, there is a clear benefit on comfort. In scenarios where you have central ventilation, one of the big initiatives out there is to get things better compartmentalized. And that's not easy to do in an old existing building. Right? Yeah. But if you've got the central ventilation, you can absolutely seal that and improve to a degree to where you don't have that unit to unit transfer of odor. So that's one of the very common things. So that's one of the big things that we're talking about here at the booth. On the commercial side, it's a. There's a big initiative with it. There's a lot of opportunity on the renovation side. But also, if it's occupied, you know, if you have tenants that are in the building, it's still not, you know, aeroseal is not so invasive to where it can't be done. You absolutely can do it that way. It's perfect for it.

[B]

How long is the time frame usually for it to be cured and ready to use again?

[A]

Yeah, I mean, it. When it's sprayed, it enters the ductwork that about 80% already kind of cured or dried out. So about an hour, maybe two hours.

[B]

Not like 24 hours right now. Now that's interesting.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Cool. Anybody have any questions? You got any questions about aero seal smell?

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

The odor that. Does it give off odor?

[A]

Yeah, it does. It will have an odor. I think it smells a little bit like a latex paint. We reformulated the sealant in 2023. I believe we did two things on it. Right. So we made it less tacky. Was one of the requests that duct Cleaners that do aero seal, they had asked, they, you know, they prefer not to have something that is like going to grab a lot of dust and dirt and everything. So we made it, you know, less, it's now less tacky. Once it's installed or applied, it is, has less tack on it than like a post it note. So it's. It. We've really overcome that. But it smells like a latex paint and it dissipates, you know, depending on how you're ventilating. If it's, if it's very cold out and you can't open windows, it'll last a little bit longer. But usually within like three, four hours, it's gone. So not a big issue. And contractors will run a scrubber fan, an air scrubber fan during the process. It's part of our, of our kit for them and it will draw it into the filter and again get it kind of mitigate that whole concern or issue. Good question.

[B]

Solvent or water based?

[A]

Another great question. Are you a chemist? So it is all water based. And the key to that is, you know, you can get into some. I don't. When you're applying anything with a solvent in it, like it's going to be more noxious, typically it will have a much longer cure time. Right. With water, with it being water based, it really simplifies it and it cures really fast. Just has to dry. So very simple on that side.

[B]

Fire rated.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. It's not, it's not fire rated, but it does have zero smoke and zero flame index. So like once it's applied, it's not going to be one of those products that will be something that complicates a fire situation. Right. So it will you think of it being an acrylic polymer. It's like a lot of other plastic products that are already in, you know, common in homes or in building materials. You know, think of vapor barriers. You know, they are not, they're. They have zero smoke, zero flame index. Also for a reason. Right. You don't want it to be something that causes a fire to be even worse. Right. So no issue there either. We've done, you know, on a commercial side, homeowner side, we've done, certainly our dealers have done hundreds of thousands of homes. On the commercial side, this is where a lot of those questions come up much more and it's certainly for a good reason. We've done a lot, a lot of federal buildings where a lot of this testing or proving that has been tested have come come along. I'll say the state of California is usually a litmus test for most people on, on anything that's environmental and everything. So no issues there. Right. And even abroad, you know, we've got to work in about 40 different countries also. And they have, you know, they typically are very, very sensitive to building materials that you're using also.

[B]

I appreciate you, buddy.

[A]

Yeah, I forgot to ask you, I don't think so. No, we covered, covered a lot earlier too.

[B]

Appreciate you having. Yeah, thanks for coming on the show.

[A]

Thank you so much.

[B]

If anybody has any questions at all, where's the best place for them to learn?

[A]

Yeah. So aeroseal.com A E R O S E A L. You can certainly come out and see us in the booth, get some it, get some material there, see it, talk to us about some of the work that's done. Especially on the commercial side. We have a lot of good work that is done in case studies that are specific to industry. So healthcare, you know, in hospitality, all of those things are really done. It really paints the picture of the work that you're probably already interested in doing. And then the proof on the residential side is our dealer network that it's just continuing to do more and more. This is going to be, I think a key year like last year on the residential side where it looks like it's going to be very much a, you know, a repair type situation. So every install is crucial. This is going to be something that really makes the, brings the or delivers the comfort of the every install that you have. It will reduce callbacks and improve customer satisfaction. It's even if you follow what we, what we share in our training, you can make this a competitive advantage for you. It really can. And not just around comfort, but IQ and energy savings for the homeowner also. But you know, I think that you can come and meet us there. You certainly can meet with me. If anybody's out here. Our number, my number 937-751-3945 for the recording. If anybody wants to reach out to me, Jared Scott J A R R O D. Come up and get a card if you're interested. But absolutely, we're, you know, we're available. We'll meet with you anytime on, you know, get your group together. If it's a leadership conversation, look at them all on a teams call or zoom call, really make this clear because one of the things is like is there a problem? I think most people agree there are. Can it be positioned? I think most people agree, yeah, we can get this implemented. The next thing is how do we make money with it? We want that to be crystal clear. This is much more of like, what is the. What is your business outcome and what's the outcome for your customer? And we've got clarity on all that.

[B]

Sweet. Thank you, babe.

[A]

Thank you,

[C]

Thank you for listening to this episode of Service Business Mastery. Now that you are equipped with essential business advice from this impactful conversation, you are one step closer to becoming the successful owner of your dreams. If this episode has been helpful to your business journey, don't forget to subscribe to the show, leave a rating, and share it with other owners as well. Visit servicebusinessmastery.com to learn more.