Cleaning versus sealing: two different jobs
This page is about the ducts of a furnace or air conditioner, not dryer vents. Duct cleaning means removing dust and debris from the supply and return ducts, the registers and sometimes the blower. Duct sealing closes gaps and leaks in the duct walls and joints, and insulation wraps ducts that run through unheated spaces. A company can offer one, the other or both.
Michigan has plenty of older homes, and older homes tend to have older ductwork: 90.1% of Detroit's homes and 92.8% of Saginaw's were built before 1980. Age alone says nothing about the condition of a given duct system, so the first useful step is an inspection for leaks, before any cleaning.
What duct cleaning cost evidence we have for Michigan
Our estimate for this job in Michigan is $360 to $745 per job. It is a model, not a quote, built from national published cost ranges and adjusted by Michigan's wage ratio to the US (1.00).
What Michigan heating and cooling companies publish on their own sites is what we are collecting; the table will carry those prices, the number of companies and the date we read them, when we have enough. The duct cleaning cost guide covers what moves a quote.
| Item | Figure | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated range, not a quote | $360 to $745 per job | Built from 2 national published ranges, adjusted by the Michigan HVAC technician wage ratio (1.00). |
| HVAC mechanic and installer wage, Michigan mean | $31.01 an hour | What Michigan heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers are paid (BLS, May 2025), not what you are charged. |
| Mechanical permit, Sterling Heights, duct work | $57 plus a $55 application | 2026-27 application form. |
| Mechanical permit, Troy, duct work or alterations | $134 | Medium confidence: Troy's 2026-27 schedule also sets a $75 minimum permit fee. |
| Mechanical permit, Grand Rapids, heating systems that add duct work | $52 line, new work | Applies to new-work residential heating systems; the application is $52.00 as well. |
| ENERGY STAR: sealing and insulating ducts | up to 20 percent efficiency gain | An upper limit, about sealing, not cleaning. |
| Ann Arbor A2ZERO ductwork rebate | up to $2,500 | City residents only, with conditions; read Oct 19, 2026. |
How we estimate costs: the figures here are estimates, not quotes, built from BLS wages, published city permit fees and federal energy-cost evidence. We are collecting the prices Michigan heating and cooling companies publish; we have not yet collected quotes from them, and we will say how many and from when once we do. Estimated range. Built from national published ranges (2 sources), adjusted by Michigan's HVAC technician wage ratio to the US (1.00, BLS May 2025), plus the local permit fee where the city publishes one. Not a quote. We have too few Michigan company prices yet to show a range. Full method. Prices as of Oct 19, 2026.
What ENERGY STAR says about leaky ducts
ENERGY STAR's figures are all upper limits. Sealing and insulating ducts can improve efficiency by as much as 20 percent, and sometimes much more. Improper installation can reduce efficiency by up to 30 percent, and airflow problems by up to 15 percent. None of these figures describes cleaning, and none is a promise for your house.
If a company sells you duct work on that basis, ask which problem it found in your ducts and how the work fixes it. A clean duct that leaks into an attic is still a leaky duct.
Ann Arbor's ductwork rebate
Ann Arbor's A2ZERO Home Energy Rebates, funded by the 2022 Community Climate Action Millage, list ductwork at up to $2,500. The rebate is for owning or renting a residential property in the city, applies to a retrofit of an existing building and requires contractor installation. It may not exceed 90% of the cost, and the page showed no closure notice and no date when we read it on Oct 19, 2026. Check the city before you book. The rebate finder covers other utilities.
Choosing a duct company: what to ask
Michigan's mechanical contractor license has a ductwork class among its classes, and the license holder is the person who may secure permits. Ask any company for its license number and check it on the LARA lookup. Then ask what the quote covers: which ducts and registers, whether the blower is included, whether sealing is in the price, and whether there is a charge per vent. The guide to finding a licensed HVAC contractor has more questions. If the company arrives with a coupon, ask what happens to the price when it sees the system.
Duct problems that are really safety problems
- A carbon monoxide alarm is sounding.
- You smell gas, or you smell burning when the system runs.
- Dusty vents or registers.
- A coupon offer you have not accepted.
What to do before you pay for duct work
- Change or clean the filter; ENERGY STAR advises monthly.
- Look at the ducts you can see for gaps or disconnected joints.
- Ask for the work to be described in writing, with the license number.
Permits for duct work in Michigan
LARA says mechanical work needs a permit except for replacement of minor parts. The fee rows above are for duct work, which we read as adding or altering ducts; whether a city asks for a permit to clean existing ducts is a question for its building office. The mechanical permit guide has the process.
Ask for the license number and check it with your state's licensing board before any work starts. Our state pages link the lookup.
- Sterling Heights mechanical permit fee schedule Read Oct 19, 2026.
- Troy mechanical permit fee schedule Read Oct 19, 2026. Our reading of the source, not something it states outright. Confirm before you rely on it.
- Grand Rapids mechanical permit fee schedule Read Oct 19, 2026.
- MCL 339.5807 Read Oct 19, 2026.
- LARA: Find / Verify a Licensed Professional or Business Read Oct 19, 2026. Our reading of the source, not something it states outright. Confirm before you rely on it.
- MCL 339.5801 (Michigan Legislature) Read Oct 19, 2026.
- LARA BCC: Mechanical Permit Information Read Oct 19, 2026.
A tool for this job
Rebate and tax-credit finder
Pick your utility, your equipment and your household, and the finder shows each program's status with the date we checked it, October 19, 2026. Federal credits 25C and 25D ended for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, according to the IRS, even though ENERGY STAR's heat pump page still advertises one. It prints no amount without its program, tier and date.
Open the toolQuestions people ask
What are the benefits of duct cleaning?
ENERGY STAR says sealing and insulating ducts can improve efficiency by as much as 20 percent. Cleaning has no sourced benefit on this page, so we make no claim for it.
Is air duct cleaning really worth it?
If your concern is energy use, ENERGY STAR points to leaky or badly installed ducts, with losses of up to 15 percent from airflow problems and up to 30 percent from improper installation. Have a contractor look at the ducts first.
How to choose an air duct cleaning company in Michigan?
Ask for the license number and check it on LARA. Then ask what the quote covers: which ducts, whether sealing is included and whether it charges per vent.
How much does duct cleaning cost in Michigan?
We have no Michigan quotes, so the first row of the table is a statewide estimate, a model and not a quote. The rows below it show what technicians are paid and what some cities charge for a duct work permit.
Does homeowners insurance cover duct cleaning?
Ask your insurer or agent whether your policy covers it before you book.
Is there a Michigan rebate for ductwork?
Ann Arbor's A2ZERO program lists ductwork at up to $2,500 for city properties, with conditions. The rebate finder covers utility programs.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025: heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers (SOC 49-9021), Michigan statewide Read Oct 19, 2026.
- ENERGY STAR Save at Home: Heat and Cool Efficiently; also /saveathome/heating-cooling/maintenance-checklist Read Oct 19, 2026.
- A2ZERO Rebates | City of Ann Arbor Read Oct 19, 2026.
- ENERGY STAR: Maintenance Checklist Read Oct 19, 2026.
- DTE Energy: Natural Gas Emergency Read Oct 19, 2026.
- Consumers Energy: Emergencies Read Oct 19, 2026.
- HVACMatch: how we estimate costs (editorial policy) Read Oct 19, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 five-year estimates (tables B01003, B25034, B25077) Read Oct 19, 2026.