Balancing airflow in a building, such as your Indianapolis home, is a process that entails measuring air volumes, temperature and humidity, and making mechanical and environmental adjustments to deliver balanced comfort and IAQ in every room. That’s not all. Air balancing also offers a nice concomitant in the form of energy savings. Here’s what to know.
Air Balancing Basics
In a nutshell, your certified HVAC technician gets to use hi-tech gadgets to learn what’s really going on with your hot/cold comfort problems and your high energy bills. A visual inspection of your home and the ductwork is performed to gain knowledge of any obvious airflow problems, such as poor duct design and obstructed vents. Next:
- Repairs — Basic duct problems, such as fallen or loose connections, must be repaired before your airflow can be tested and balanced.
- Supply and return air — Interior doors in your home are opened and entry doors and windows are closed to allow unobstructed airflow from the supply vents to the return grilles. Air volume, velocity, temperature and humidity are measured at supply vents and return grilles.
- Blower — The same measurements are taken at the blower. This helps identify heat gain/loss and humidity issues in the return and supply ductwork.
- Dampers — Beginning with the most distant supply vent from the blower, dampers are adjusted so that the right percentage of air volume enters the room. This is repeated at all vents, and air measurements are taken again for fine tuning. If airflow problems are substantial due to incorrectly sized ducts or other major issues, adjusting the dampers isn’t a permanent solution.
Balanced Results
Your HVAC technician calculates the air measurements and provides you a report outlining any recommendations to improve comfort, efficiency and IAQ. Common solutions range from sealing duct leaks, adding insulation or installing new ductwork to replace aging and deteriorated ducts. The important point is that the solution is going to be tailored specifically to your home.
Is it about time you balanced comfort and efficiency in your Indianapolis home? To get started with an air balancing assessment, contact Mowery Heating, Cooling and Plumbing today.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Brownsburg, Indiana and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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