Category: HVAC Test & Balance

Top 5 Negative Building Pressure Problems

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

The difference between outside air supplied to a building and air removed from inside a building is the building pressure.  Typically, a slightly positive (or more air being supplied than taken out) building pressure is wanted for most buildings.  Negative building pressure can cause many issues for customers from high energy costs to hot and cold spots in a building.  Here are the top five problems a building with negative pressure can experience:

  1. Difficulty Opening and Closing Doors:

One of the first signs that a building is negatively pressurized, is when the front door is not easily opened.  After finally opening the door to a negatively pressurized building, a large draft will be felt on your back as the door is slammed closed.  Because buildings are typically designed to be positively pressurized, you should feel a soft gust of air blowing outward when this is set properly.

  1. High Humidity:

If your building is negatively pressurized, the building will pull in unconditioned outside air through all openings including doors, windows, and other leaks in the structure. This is very noticeable in the summertime when outside humidity is especially high.  This can cause mold or mildew in the building.

  1. High Energy Costs:

Studies have shown that correcting negative building pressure can save a facility owner as much as 20% on their HVAC energy costs.  By ensuring your facility has a positive building pressure, you are avoiding unnecessary costs and maximizing comfort in the facility.

  1. Outside Debris:

In a facility that is negatively pressurized, owners are more likely to see outside debris being pulled into the facility through various openings. These items include, leaves, flies, dirt, as well as smells brought in from outside.  In many facilities, this could create major issues with production as the outside debris could be contaminating the products.

  1. Hot and Cold Spots:

Another symptom commonly noticed in buildings with negative building pressure is noticeable hot and cold spots that are created by the disrupted airflow.  This could cause the customers to become angry because they can’t reach a comfortable temperature in the building.  In a restaurant, this could also cause food at the counter to become cold.

An Outsiders Take on T&B (Co-op Edition)

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

Well, my tenure at Melink is coming to an end as I prepare to return back to the University of Cincinnati to complete my degree in Mechanical Engineering.  As I look back on the experience, I can say that I have learned an incredible amount about the HVAC industry, and more specifically our roll in the niche market of air test & balancing.

Before my time with Melink, the thought of air balancing never really crossed my mind.  Although I was unaware of this process, the symptoms of unbalanced buildings were always right in front of my eyes.  Such examples include the blast of air coming from opening the door of a building, droplets of water falling from ductwork, uncomfortable humid buildings, or trying the pull open a door that feels like it’s being sucked back in; these all too common symptoms seem to plague buildings and stores across the world.  My time with Melink cleared up my misconceptions relating to such occurrences, as I learned that these are typical symptoms of an unbalanced building.

As I stepped into the role of a sales engineer, I had the chance to learn about these issues and how we solve them.  The simple solution is to provide a test and balance.  While many construction projects typically require a test and balance, conditions still change over time, and in other cases, a proper balance may have never been completed in the first place.  This is where Melink comes into the picture.

My day-to-day work revolved around providing testing & balancing services to customers, whether they were current national account customers, developing customers, general contractors, facility managers, etc.  When looking into balancing projects, my role was to address the scope of work needed and discuss any issues on-site, so we can provide the greatest value during our visit.  This process involves examining mechanical documents, determining the equipment on-site, and estimating how long it will take a technician to perform the job.

Despite that fact that testing & balancing had never crossed my mind until I joined Melink, I can now say that I am a firm believer in the importance of this process for both HVAC equipment and building health.  Even in my absence from the company, I will never be able to walk into a building again without taking a look around at the mechanical systems and thinking to myself, “Hmm, this place could really benefit from a proper test & balance”.

The Test and Balance Professional

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

The HVAC industry is vast; there are many products and services that make up the build of any one system. Test and Balance is a very important niche of the large HVAC industry. Many HVAC companies have offered test and balance services throughout the years, but very few of them have employed technicians dedicated specifically to Testing and Balancing. Enter Steve Melink, circa 1987. Steve knew there was a service gap in the HVAC industry and addressed it. Does it really make sense for an owner to allow an installing contractor to verify the HVAC system they installed is correct? Would it not make more sense if an INDEPENDENT, CERTIFIED and SELF PERFORMING entity verified that the mechanical engineer’s design was met? Of course, it would!

Fast forward 31 years and Melink Test & Balance is still going strong thanks to our dedicated team of technicians. These Balancing Professionals are dedicated to Melink Corporation’s core values of Integrity, Innovation, and Service Excellence.

What is a Test & Balance Technician and What Do They Do??

Our National Network consists of more than 30 professionals across 19 states. Our technician tenure’s range from 15 years to less than a month! 100% of Melink balancers are NEBB trained with more than half of the network being NEBB Certified Technicians. Our technician’s experience prior to Melink varies from HVAC service technicians to general contractors to aircraft systems mechanics. Our team currently services more than 50 major accounts and we are adding more every year. As you can imagine, Melink Technicians have seen nearly every type of commercial HVAC unit utilized by the commercial retail market. There is no typical ‘day in the life’ for our T&B technicians. Between the location, business type, and scope of work, every week is a new adventure!

The lifestyle of our techs is unique, but very rewarding and profitable. All techs are road warriors, traveling across the United States each week to different jobs. Melink covers all travel expenses and supplies each tech with a company vehicle. Not only does this allow the team to see the U.S. on the company dollar, but their personal expenses decrease since most of the week they are being covered by the company. Food, gas, and vehicle expenses add up!!

This position is also very independent and needs a disciplined self-starter. With most projects only needing one tech, most of the travel and work is done alone. Even so, the Melink National Network is a family. Each tech knows that a fellow balancer or office support is only a phone call or an email away if they are ever in a tight spot. Even after hours, our technicians constantly interact with one another to help each other grow and support our customers. This is not just a career or a steady job, this is a lifestyle.

On top of it all, our technicians are also partial owners of the company. Melink Corporation is now an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan), which gives all Melink employees even more incentive to push the envelope with innovation and succeed as a business. Thanks to our National Network Technician team, Melink Corporation has been listed as a Best Place to Work for 3 consecutive years. Melink Corporation encourages input and recommendations for improving the business and improving the lives of the technicians. Melink works hard to address everything to better the position and the experience, for our employees. Striving for the best possible work/life balance is something very important to Melink Corporation.

One can find challenges in any profession they choose. But Melink’s National Network chooses to be challenged on a daily basis and to thrive in it! Their dedication and their commitment to service excellence is the backbone of Melink T&B!

Click here to learn more about Melink T&B.

Committed to You: A Customer-Centered Focus

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

Customer Service Excellence is not only our responsibility, it is the cornerstone of our values at Melink. Since 1987, we have made a conscious effort to make the customer our sole focus each and every day, working to create the absolute best customer experience possible.

This year, in an effort to provide a greater experience for our Test & Balance customers, we restructured our internal account teams. Our decision to revamp our customer service team’s layout was in response to our ever-growing business, and the continually changing nature of what it means to provide a first-class experience. We choose not to be complacent, but rather question daily whether we are utilizing the most efficient customer service tactics in executing our goals and serving customer’s needs.

The new teams are made up of a dynamic group of skillsets to ensure a well-rounded support system, with the customer as the center focus. There is an Account Manager that acts as the point-person in daily communications; an Account Coordinator or Specialist who works directly with customer site contacts to effectively and efficiently schedule our National Network; and an Account Engineer offering specialized technical support for their team’s customers.

We even restructured our office space and customized our email system to provide a more cohesive and resourceful team environment. By rearranging our internal office space, our team members can better communicate proactively and at the speed of business. By providing account-specific email addresses, our customers have the comfort of knowing they are communicating directly with a dedicated team focused on their needs. By scheduling our National Network more effectively, we increase productivity and meet our customer’s needs in a timely and efficient manner.

To most, our Test & Balance division is known for providing first-class HVAC services. We go beyond what others in the industry do. We offer more than just a balance – a hands-on support system providing a full customer service experience from order to invoice!

Is Your Business Haunted Or Is It Something Worse??

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

Has your business experienced…

Zombie Levels of Productivity

Poor levels of fresh outside air leading to insufficient IAQ can decrease air quality. According to a study done by Harvard University, productivity levels can be increased by up to 61% when the proper amount of air quality is introduced into the space, and can be increased by 100% when doubling the ventilation.

Chills Running Down Your Spine or Sweaty Palms?

Improper heating and cooling due to an unbalanced building means air is distributed unevenly which creates temperature variation. Hot and cold spots around your building are probably signs of an unbalanced building, or are they??

Something Strange in the Air?

Air drafts can be caused by too much air being delivered to certain areas and then the air moves between rooms in order to reach an equilibrium of pressure.

Musty Odor Means Something Is Lurking

When air isn’t cycled properly through the building on a regular basis and you let the humidity get too high, you provide a breeding ground for bacteria and mold. Considering the average adult spends 92% of their time indoors, that means a lot of time breathing in these gross pollutants!

Mysterious Noises No One Can Explain

Have you been startled by an abrupt sound somewhere in your building that you can’t pinpoint? Poorly sized belts or pulleys can cause RTUs to squeak as they are operating, and duct leakage has been known to create some creepy noises as well.

Doors Opening and Closing With No One There

Pressure differentials caused by an imbalance of air being delivered to certain rooms can make doors open and close on their own.

Don’t call Ghostbusters just yet! There is a good chance you building is not actually haunted but instead just needs a good balance. Many of the above culprits can be easily fixed, and will not only improve your building’s health, but the health and productivity of everyone inside (one study shows estimated productivity benefits from increased ventilation could be as high as $6,500 per person per year!).  Learn more on what a building balance is here or contact us for more information on how to get rid of the pesky (and creepy) issues you are having!

Study Finds Building Mold Can Become Airborne, Highlighting Need for HVAC Test and Balance Services

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

A recent study by The National Veterinary School of Toulouse in France revealed that mycotoxins can be inhaled and should be investigated as parameters of indoor air quality. This means that food fungus formerly thought to have no effect on air quality can actually become airborne and dangerous to building occupants. The results were published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, which is the American Society for Microbiology’s journal.

 

The researchers were interested in the fact that far less research exists on the dangers of airborne fungal toxins compared to fungal toxins in foods. The research team focused on three fungi commonly found in contaminated food: Penicillium brevicompactum, Aspergillus versicolor and Stachybortys chartarum. The research team conducted this study by creating a flowing stream of air over a piece of wallpaper contaminated with the three fungi and then analyzing the samples of air.

 

The results showed some toxins from the contaminated wallpaper were present on tiny particles of dust that were considered to be easily inhalable. If you own a restaurant, hotel, retail location or supermarket, these results should be eye-opening. These findings should amplify the importance of performing regularly scheduled HVAC test and balance services to ensure your HVAC system is operating as designed, and not contributing to organic growth.

 

As a business owner, it’s extremely important to make sure that your building’s HVAC system is working properly, not only for health reasons like the airborne fungus we specified above, but for first impressions of new customers. An unbalanced HVAC system may cause humidity problems, and this may result in fogged over windows in the morning, which prevents customers from being able to see inside. Poor air pressure can even make it difficult to open doors.

 

An unbalanced HVAC system can also result in uncomfortable temperatures and humidity that does damage to ceiling tiles and creates slippery floors which can become both a safety issue and legal liability. In kitchen environments, an unbalanced HVAC system can also cause smoke and odors to flow past the hood and  seep into the dining area.

 

Here at Melink we provide HVAC test and balance services, HVAC commissioning, indoor air quality tests and water balancing services that will help to alert you to dangerous conditions within your building.

 

 

 

Our 100 percent self-performing network of technicians ensure consistency across your locations. Mechanical systems fall out of alignment over time, you should keep your HVAC at peak performance by rebalancing it every three to five years. We also offer comfort investigations that can be conducted after HVAC complaints or negative building pressure issues.

 

Many of the largest chains in the US recommend Melink because of the convenience, consistency and cost effectiveness of our service. They also know that our reputation for integrity, quality and service is proven. As we’ve demonstrated, not only can overlooking the air quality of your building be dangerous for the health of the building’s occupants, but it can also cause a business owner to lose customers. In order to best help business owners decide if it may be time for an HVAC Test and Balance service, we’ve provided these questions to ask yourself:

 

Is there a draft at the front door of my building?

Is there leakage from units in the ceiling?

Is there condensation dripping from diffusers?

Are there noticeable hot and cold spots?

 

If you answered yes to any of these question, you are likely due for some servicing. Reach out to us today to improve the conditions of your building and increase the quality of your business!

How to Read and Interpret a TAB Report

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

HVAC system testing, adjusting, and balancing (TAB) is one of the most misunderstood trades.  In spite of its 50-year history, many contractors believe to do TAB, technicians simply need to show up with a flow hood, read grilles, hand over a piece of paper, and ask to be paid thousands of dollars. There happens to be a bit more to it than that.

Among the complexities of the trade, the final TAB report is perhaps the most critical and most misunderstood.  When the painters are done, the walls change color. When electricians are done, the
lights come on.  When the HVAC technicians are done, the building heats and cools.  When the TAB professional is done, he or she simply hands over paperwork and the other trades and owners simply must take their word for it. That paperwork is the TAB firm’s final product and should be professional, complete, concise, and as useful as possible for the end user.

Whether that end user is a design professional, facilities manager, property owner, municipal inspector, or other concerned party, the TAB report should be written and compiled in such a way that even a layman can identify any issues that potentially impact building performance.

There are five elements that any should be consistent in any TAB report:

  1.  Overall professionalism
  2.  Certification
  3.  Remarks and deficiencies
  4.  Discrepancies between design values and actual data
  5.  Mechanical drawings and floor plans

Overall professionalism speaks for itself.  Are the numbers hand-scrawled on a piece of paper or is the TAB report well-presented and organized? Does it appear to be a document reflecting the skills and expertise of the industry veteran who produced it?  Basic elements that should be included in a professional report include: an executive summary / general remarks, distribution list, table of contents, symbols and abbreviations, as well as corresponding mechanical drawings and certification.

In today’s litigious society, I’ve had more than half a dozen of my TAB reports subpoenaed in legal proceedings.  Every TAB report I compile is issued with the mindset that it may end up in the hands of a jury selected from a variety of backgrounds and be examined by professional witnesses who will scrutinize it’s
content. Once that standard is achieved, the report should be able to be tell the overall story in a way that virtually ANYONE can understand, regardless of background.

Certification is a critical element of any TAB report.  Sure, there are many incredibly capable technicians out there who operate without certification.  However, certification ensures that the
professionals who compiled the report are vetted, tested, and properly equipped to perform the work.  Certification also ensures that the TAB firm and TAB professional are current to their certifying
organizations’ standards.  Finally, certification provides recourse to the end user should there be issues with the TAB report or work performed by the TAB contractors.

Remarks and deficiencies are very often overlooked.  The professional TAB report should have both an executive summary / general remarks section up front to explain overall conditions and issues. If applicable, the summary should be followed by an itemized list of items that remain to be corrected.  There is a growing trend to include pictures of deficiencies as well. Often such deficiencies are corrected during the course of the test and balance work and by the time the final TAB report is issued, there are no remaining issues.  If that is the case, there should still be general remarks explaining the scope of work and conditions at times of testing.

Discrepancies between design values and actual data collected. The actual test data can be confusing and tedious.  Especially reports containing hundreds of pages of numbers and readings.  Even to the well-trained eye, reviewing a TAB report can be like trying to read the streaming code in the Matrix movies.  However, anyone can read “percentage of design” and determine that any item not within +/- 10% or (5% in some cases) needs further review.  ANY item not within design tolerances should be accompanied by a remark explaining why.  The remarks should also explain what corrective action can be taken, or if a corrective action is even needed.  Again, this can be a critical part of the report that should be written to stand out, even to the layman, without being overly technical or confusing.

Finally, let’s talk about mechanical drawings and floor plans. I have the great fortune of providing training to professionals from all over the world. These professionals come from a wide variety of backgrounds.  The number one complaint I hear from design professionals and facilities managers is that many TAB reports are missing floor plans / mechanical drawings that correspond to the reported data.  This is the number one item in any TAB report that makes the report practical and functional to the end user.

There are many instances where plans are not provided to the TAB contractor, or cannot be removed from a facility.  There are many options around these situations.  From a simple, hand-drawn
ceiling plan indicating supply, return, and exhaust diffusers, to taking a picture of the immovable plans and numbering the inlets, outlets, and equipment. You can use a CAD program, or even something as simple as PowerPoint to provide a visual reference. Regardless of how this is accomplished, these numbered plans and/or drawings are the glue that bind the TAB report together, and MUST be included.

The TAB report is a critical element of the construction process that assures the design team’s intent was met. It also assures the building owner that they have the systems they paid for.

The TAB report should reflect the professionalism and skills of the technicians who provided the work behind it and who ultimately compiled and published it.  However, it is a meaningless collection of data if it is not reviewed, understood, and used.

A Balancing Act: Air Balance is an important part of HVAC maintenance

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

When it comes to HVAC, no news is good news for restaurant facility managers. When you start hearing chatter about the building being hot and humid, drafty, smoky or uncomfortable, you know a problem has already taken root. It’s like a piano being out of tune. In addition to unhappy customers and employees, comfort issues are indicators of energy inefficiency within a system and air balance issues. So, what can facility managers do to prevent comfort and energy threats?

Identifying Common Problems

“Facility managers need to be trained on air balance and push it to their service contractors,” recommends Jeff Dover, resource manager at RFMA.

A good place to start is to gain a foundational understanding of building pressure and common HVAC deficiencies along with following seven easy steps to bring your restaurant back into tune. Most importantly, learn how to look for negative building pressure. Remember, the goal is to stay slightly positive in building pressure.

There are three methods to identify negative building pressure. The first and most reactive method is to monitor signals that your building is negative. These signs are hot/cold spots, entry doors that are hard to open, poor smoke capture, humidity, condensation dripping from diffusers and drafts.
Second, you can measure the building pressure yourself or with the help of your service contractor by using a pressure reading tool such as an anemometer to get a ballpark pressure reading. The third and most accurate method is to hire an air balance firm to check the facility’s building balance once a year. If comfort-related issues or a negative building pressure reading are observed, then an air balance needs to be scheduled.

Investigating the Cause

What causes a building to become negative or unbalanced? The usual offenders are equipment deficiencies, improper preventative maintenance programs, and adjustment errors such as kitchen staff fiddling with thermostats or service contractors opening or closing dampers.

 Here are 10 example deficiencies you or your service contractors should be on the lookout for:
  1. Exhaust fans in poor condition
  1. Supply air leaking above ceiling
  1. OA dampers improperly installed
  1. Exhaust fans not sealed to curb or hinged correctly
  1. Dirty compartment/coil in the RTU
  1. Tops of diffuser not insulated
  1. Filters improperly sized for hoods
  1. MUA not operating properly
  1. Dirty indoor/outdoor filters
  1. Worn/broken belts

Achieving Air Balance in HVAC

Once you’re ready to bring a facility back into tune, there are seven easy steps to complete. These steps may be completed by the facility manager alone, but are more likely in partnership with a service contractor. To get started, pull out the facility’s previous balance report to use as a base line for data.

One Principal Engineer at a hamburger fast food chain overseeing thousands of locations explains how her team uses the air balance report to get started with troubleshooting comfort issues.

“The reports really are my first line of defense when someone says ‘Hey, my store is cold/hot/humid,’ she points out. “The first thing I do is pull out the TAB report and see what it says. I look at the punch list and ask was anything wrong? Not fixed? It helps when I have to remotely assess or diagnose problems.”

7 Steps to HVAC Balance

Whether the previous air balance report has been reviewed or not, proceed to the following steps:

  1. Ask the onsite restaurant managers what the complaints are from employees and customers.
  1. Turn on all HVAC equipment.
    • Verify thermostats are set to “FAN ON”
  1. Check building pressure with the flame test in different areas around the restaurant (Figure 3)
  1. Observe smoke capture
    • Is the hood in the correct overhang position?
    • Are there drafts along the cook line?
  1. Check for common comfort issues (hot/cold spots, entry doors that are hard to open, poor smoke capture, humidity, condensation dripping from diffusers and drafts).
  1. Inspect the equipment.
    • Are the filters clean?
    • Are the belts in good condition?
    • Are the exhaust fan wheels clean?
  1. Determine an intervention plan.
    • If some preventative maintenance actions and/or repairs need to happen, start with the service contractor.
    • If equipment is inoperable, have it repaired or replaced.
    1. If the preventative maintenance actions are in order and the problems persist, call in a certified air balance company that has experience with restaurants like yours.
Facility managers need to trust that their service contractors will notify them of airflow-related issues. Those technicians are out on the roofs and looking at the HVAC system components more than anyone else. If the restaurant has negative pressure or other out-of-tune symptoms, the service contractor needs to inform the facility manager right away. After all, you want your customers and employees to continue singing your praises. 

Using An Air Balance Report for HVAC Upkeep

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

There is much hype these days in the facilities management industry about the importance of preventative maintenance, especially for critically important HVAC systems. In our experience,  we are often urgently called out to a facility because the site’s HVAC hasn’t been well maintained. While we’re happy to help, we also want to share insights so you don’t have preventable crises.

In a recent FER magazine article  – Realizing ROI on Planned Maintenance – author Michael Sherer quotes David Pogach, LEED GA, Longhorn Steakhouse Facilities Manager, as saying:

“We look at planned maintenance as a way of making sure equipment lasts its expected life cycle. … We know these programs work. They save money, so for us it’s not a debate of whether to spend the money now or later. We maintain our equipment.

“Planned maintenance makes the most sense for equipment that in-house staff doesn’t have the expertise or time to maintain. Most operators who have programs in place start with HVAC because putting people on the roof is a liability issue, and most foodservice employees don’t have the expertise to service HVAC systems.”

Following are ways you can use your air balance report to help start a new preventative maintenance program or audit the effectiveness of an existing one:

1)    In your report, you’ll have a list of deficiencies and recommendations for optimal operation (figure 1). First and foremost, you should schedule completion of these tasks as part of your quarterly or semi-annual preventative maintenance program.

 

2)   Another great use of a test and balance report is using the unit inspection checklists to see what should be monitored by your HVAC contractor (figure 2).

figure 2
Rooftop inspection checklist

 

3)   The report will also include unit3)  A third way to make the most of your air balance report is to use the HVAC system layout drawings to locate and inventory all equipment that needs to be maintained (figure 3). Please note that not all test and balance contractors provide this. manufacturers, model numbers, serial numbers, pulley sizes, belts sizes, motor horsepower ratings, and a large amount of other useful data which would aid in the implementation or upkeep of any preventative maintenance program.

figure 3
Building and rooftop layout

 4)   Finally, make sure your preventative maintenance programs include all of the items below. Omitting regular service on these is a leading causes of problem stores.

  • Change belts when damaged and verify proper belt tension
  • Replace filters quarterly
  • Clean outside air filters
  • Clean kitchen hood filters
  • Clean fan blower wheels
  • Clean grease traps
  • Clean evaporator and condenser coils
  • Verify thermostat settings are correct and someone onsite is trained how to adjust programming

Additional Reading

1. Realizing ROI On Planned Maintenance, Foodservice Equipment Reports Magazine, Michael Sherer, Aug 3, 2015

2. How To Read A T&B Report,  Fresh Air Blog, Derick Ramos, Aug 27, 2015

3. Planned HVAC Maintenance Adds Up to Big Savings for Retailers, Energy Manager Today, Karen Henry, May 11, 2015

How to implement air balance data in 5 easy steps

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

The goal of a good facility manager is to balance the customer’s brand experience with the company’s budget allocation and facility lifetime. The goal of a good air balancer is to objectively
restore the facility’s HVAC health. The air balance report is the bridge between the two parties’ goals. Once the balance report is in your hands, we suggest the following steps to enable you to take facility management from good to great:

1. Take time to go through the report and see what problems were uncovered as well as proposed solutions.

2. Prioritize the list. Use specific criteria to determine which tasks you’ll tackle and in what order. You might start with facility goals, severity, effect on occupant comfort, effect on efficiency, budget and estimated interruption to business. This would also be a good time to consult a trusted colleague on his or her opinion. If design prints were provided, you will find punch list items of discrepancies with those prints. Punch list items are typically the most urgent. In addition to punch list items or in the absence of design prints, many air balance contractors will provide recommendations. These are a combination of urgent items and best practices. If you want the best-run stores in your market, you’ll schedule execution of all the recommendations. If you’re constrained by budget, you might pick and choose the most important.

2 examples of urgent recommendations:

  • Mold inside the rooftop units. Get those puppies cleaned ASAP!
  • Leaks in the rooftop units. Not taking care of the leaks immediately will waste your money in patching membrane and/or replacing ductwork.

3. Use the report to evaluate whether your mechanical contractor or maintenance contractor is fulfilling your expectations. We often find facility managers using air balance reports to audit performance of HVAC management.

4. Assign the punch list items and/or recommendations to your qualified mechanical contractor.

5.  Tie up loose ends by having the air balance contractor revisit your site within 30 or 60 days to verify the assignments were completed. Do not assume the fixes will be made just by
passing it off to a maintenance contractor. At the very least, inspect completion yourself. If things weren’t fixed, that voids the entire effort and wastes your hard-earned dollars. Further, you’ll keep experiencing the problems.

Note: If your tasks include replacing equipment or major layout changes, you’ll need a balancer to tune the HVAC system to near design airflow so you can maintain a healthy building.

If there’s only one step you take away from this article, it needs to be No. 5. This advice is most often overlooked but distinguishes good facility managers from great ones.