Today I had an FPL representative at my home to test my duct work. I was really just expecting them to pressurize my ducts and place some little blue stickies next to all the leaks found in the attic. I was quite wrong, and very pleased with what actually transpired.
The specialist that arrived (on time) was very professional. She set up the equipment to create negative pressure in the whole house and asked me what I knew about the duct system and the home. She took pressure drop readings at every register and return in the home. I volunteered to walk around and write the readings down since I was interested in the process.
She explained in detail what high and low readings meant, and what levels indicate a problem. We identified about 6 registers that presented worrisome readings where there may be duct leaks. I thought that was the end of the evaluation. Again, I was wrong.
She got up in the attic and carefully inspected and identified all of the places where duct leaks were occurring, prioritizing the search based on the readings taken earlier. Then she put her equipment away and brought out her laptop. She made a detailed drawing of my ducts and registers, and identified locations of each leak. She printed out the results on her portable printer along with rebate certificates and a list of FPL authorized A/C companies that accept the program certificates.
What really impressed me was her prior knowledge of my home. She came prepared with my monthly energy use and knew quite a bit about my bill. We discussed my variable speed pool pump and the FPL On-Call load management program. She made recommendations about the duct repairs and generally about energy efficiency. She took her time and ensured that I was satisfied with the work.
Overall, she was at my home for almost three hours (I have two air handlers). It was a very thorough inspection, and I am sure I will save money in the long term as a result of the evaluation. I received the maximum $154 in certificates to go toward duct repairs.
The cost of the evaluation is $30 for the first A/C and $15 for each additional. More information is available here: http://www.fpl.com/residential/energy_saving/programs/ac_duct.shtml