If air duct cleaning is a scam, is air duct replacement an even bigger scam?

[Anonymous]

Has anyone ever been told their air duct returns/lines and whatnot need replacing for their hvac system? When doing research I read they should be replaced every 15 or so years and although we've never had it done I'm still skeptical as there are a lot of charlatans out there who are determined to find a problem and sell you a solution.
I do not believe every single homeowner or even the majority of homeowner do this every 15-20 years and their hvac systems works fine and house hasn't caved in. Our actual unit is only 5 years old and they admitted the unti was fine just ducting. Not looking forward to handing over thousands for what appear to be a few hundred dollars in materials unless there are more materials than I realize and labor costs that rival the cost of the hvac unit! We've told others salesfolk to exit stage left when they discover a desperately needed repair that will cost 2-3 months or more worth of mortgage payments or and scare tactics for the hard sell. Millions of homes across the country are just fine without all these "you need this" upgrades. Plus after too many service/repair nightmares I don't want my home even more messed up than before. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I’ve never even heard of this. How did they get into your house?

[Anonymous]

That is totally ridiculous. Ductwork should last decades or more

[Anonymous]

My FIL was an air conditioning contractor and they've never replaced the ducts in their house. Maintenance yes, full replacement, no.

[Anonymous]

Never heard anyone replacing.

[Anonymous]

Who told you that they needed to be replaced? It is 99.9 percent a scam and if you are still unsure, get another opinion. HVAC companies are mostly a scam. For one thing, the only reason HVAC companies survive is that there is a law that you can't buy refrigerant unless you are certified so that's all the certification most HVAC companies have. I've had HVAC techs tell me the whole system needed replacing when all it needed was to be reset. I've had them tell me the air con was leaking refrigerant and only put 1/4 of what they said they did.

[Anonymous]

OP here. We inquired about a thermostat upgrade and they inspected the attic to basement. Took pics and showed tears in the insulated duct line in the attic and registers connected to it. Said it explained why some utility bills might have been high. In researching I read that other homeowners have had it done and it can run from 2k to 10k, but I seriously doubt this is a fix that most do.

[Anonymous]

This sounds preposterous. Who’s been telling you this?
I lived in one house that is 80 years old and my current house was also built 80 years ago. The HVAC systems have obviously been replaced as needed but never the ductwork.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We inquired about a thermostat upgrade and they inspected the attic to basement. Took pics and showed tears in the insulated duct line in the attic and registers connected to it. Said it explained why some utility bills might have been high. In researching I read that other homeowners have had it done and it can run from 2k to 10k, but I seriously doubt this is a fix that most do.

They probably cut it while they were up there.

[Anonymous]

OP, the “thermostat upgrade” was the scam part. You should never respond to an ad or offer like that. It’s like $50 “duct cleaning” and then whoops, while they’re there they discover mold.

Your thermostat is fine, and if you need a new one you just plug it in, nearly. It’s a 5 minute job that no one could ever make money selling. That’s why I know if it was advertised as a service, it’s a scam to get in your door so they can “discover” that your ducts “need” to be replaced.

Stop responding to ads like that, ever. You’re getting fleeced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, the “thermostat upgrade” was the scam part. You should never respond to an ad or offer like that. It’s like $50 “duct cleaning” and then whoops, while they’re there they discover mold.

Your thermostat is fine, and if you need a new one you just plug it in, nearly. It’s a 5 minute job that no one could ever make money selling. That’s why I know if it was advertised as a service, it’s a scam to get in your door so they can “discover” that your ducts “need” to be replaced.

Stop responding to ads like that, ever. You’re getting fleeced.

I would go further and say that advertising a "thermostat upgrade" is a way of filtering out people who know anything about how HVAC works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who told you that they needed to be replaced? It is 99.9 percent a scam and if you are still unsure, get another opinion. HVAC companies are mostly a scam. For one thing, the only reason HVAC companies survive is that there is a law that you can't buy refrigerant unless you are certified so that's all the certification most HVAC companies have. I've had HVAC techs tell me the whole system needed replacing when all it needed was to be reset. I've had them tell me the air con was leaking refrigerant and only put 1/4 of what they said they did.

This is a bit of a overstatement. There are honest, hardworking people in the HVAC business.

There has been a trend in recent years though that venture capital firms have been buying up established local HVAC companies. The VC guys push the techs to be much more sales-oriented. One of the things they typically tell them is not to do any work on systems more than X years old, where X is typically seven to ten years. Even if the system is fine or needs simple maintenance they'll say it needs replacing.

Two of the biggest firms in the DC area have gone this route, they have lots of unhappy customers. Find out who owns your HVAC company before doing business with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We inquired about a thermostat upgrade and they inspected the attic to basement. Took pics and showed tears in the insulated duct line in the attic and registers connected to it. Said it explained why some utility bills might have been high. In researching I read that other homeowners have had it done and it can run from 2k to 10k, but I seriously doubt this is a fix that most do.

Realistically everything has life expectancy.
You might not need it now but at some point it needs to be done.

[Anonymous]

I do my duct replacement at the same time time as wood beam replacement and foundation recasting.

Cheaper to do it all at once

[Anonymous]

OP - do you have rigid metal ductwork, or flexible insulated ductwork? The rigid metal ducts last decades. The flexible ducts - well, I'm not sure, but that type seems like it might need replacing periodically. I'd post on the hvac subreddit.