How to balance your home air conditioning system

Multiple heat leaks and cold spots are a common problem in older buildings because of which homeowners suffer losses—overpay for electrical heating or take unheated rooms out of service. Only a qualified HVAC maintenance contractor, bhcair.com is able to eliminate systemic defects relating to the indoor microclimate. The Best Heating Cooling & Air company will balance your climate control system, prevent heat loss, and ensure thermal comfort everywhere in the house.

How do I know if my climate control system needs balancing?

The appearance of hot and cold spots is a typical sign of improper air exchange design in a room; most often, it happens due to air duct engineering and installation errors that upset the balance between air intake and exhaust. There are many poorly ventilated houses in the United States; as a rule, these are buildings dating back to the mass housing times in the 70s, when developers saved on everything. For example, to reduce the cost of designing, a centralized exhaust system was laid out in residential buildings that proved unable to cope with extracting large volumes of air.

In the case of the normal functioning of ventilation and air conditioning, the air exchange in a room is perfectly balanced: the difference between the total intake and exhaust volumes is zero. Otherwise, the required pressure difference for the free circulation of air masses is not created; air stagnation occurs in some places, dust and condensate accumulate.

Thermal insulation defects and depressurization of joints is another reason for the formation of ‘cold bridges’ leading to heat loss, as a result of which the overconsumption of heat by the heating system can reach 70%. At first glance, restoring comfortable thermal conditions in such cases is as easy as shelling pears—it’s enough to fiddle with the central air conditioner settings. But if the microclimate control system is unbalanced, simply changing the settings will only exacerbate the imbalance, which not in the best way gets reflected in the equipment functioning and electricity bills.

The only sensible solution is to entrust the balancing of your climate control system to a reliable contractor that will conduct an inspection of the plant and outline a further course of action. BHCAir is one of the best options in Denver: our professionalism is confirmed by a NATE certificate and a long list of professional awards displayed on our website.

Balancing the microclimate system in Denver: a range of services

Balancing the climate control system in a private house includes the calculation of air exchange in the premises and the determination of the real microclimate parameters. In case of a significant deviation of the actual readings from the design data, a thermal imaging survey of the plant is carried out, the reasons for the imbalance between air intake and exhaust are clarified, defects in thermal insulation are identified and eliminated, and HVAC equipment is repaired.

How is the air exchange balance calculated?

A professional calculation of air exchange serves as a starting point for balancing ventilation and air conditioning systems in residential premises. The input data for determining the total intake and exhaust airflow are:

  • architectural and planning concepts;
  • technical characteristics of HVAC equipment;
  • the level of humidity and heat production in the premises;
  • the number of permanent residents;
  • weather and climatic features of the region.

Next, a specialist calculates the airflow distribution across the rooms, taking into account their location, dimensions, the presence of electrical appliances, the specifics of the distribution of air ducts and ventilation fixtures; troubleshooting and servicing air conditioning equipment is carried out, filters are replaced. Then the readings of the volumetric airflow rate are taken—first for the system as a whole, then for each room separately; based on the measurement results, discrepancies between the actual and the design values are identified.

Inspection of microclimate control systems

To find out the reasons for the imbalance in air exchange, a comprehensive inspection of a building is carried out, including an energy audit, a thermal insulation test, and an assessment of the tightness of door and window frames. At the same time, heating, water supply, power supply, and program control systems are inspected; service line problems also lead to an increase in heat losses:

  • disturbances of the hot-water circulation loop;
  • accumulation of program control errors;
  • uneven warming of heating devices;
  • wear of fittings and overheating of power grids.

The BHCAir company will inspect the HVAC equipment in your home within the shortest possible time frame, without disrupting your plans or causing inconvenience to your family members. Modern expert-grade troubleshooting equipment detects problem areas with maximum accuracy; following the inspection results, a detailed report is drawn up, based on which the cost of balancing works is calculated.

No matter how large-scale the damage may seem, do not despair: the bill for balancing the microclimate control system will always remain reasonable for a wide range of consumers. If necessary, we can arrange supplies of certified components and consumables from our Xcel Energy partner at discounted prices.

Airflow adjustment

Based on the results of inspecting the plant, areas in which the airflow volume deviates from the design volume by more than 10% are marked on the building layout, which is followed by reducing or increasing the air intake and exhaust in ventilating grilles to the optimal level. Then the system is tested again; if, after adjustment, the airflow volume going through the grille exceeds the design value by more than 10%, the air flap is closed, and the readings in areas with a low volumetric flow rate are re-taken; if there is a slow circulation in some of them, the flap is opened.

In this way, the optimal air flap position for a particular ventilation system is established empirically during balancing; when the optimum airflow rate is achieved for every ventilating grille, a final test is carried out. Upon completion of the work, an acceptance certificate is drawn up to confirm the customer’s entitlement to compensation in case of making complaints about the quality of services.

Our company gives a 100% satisfaction guarantee for any type of maintenance of ventilation, heating, and air conditioning systems, but so far, not a single client has taken advantage of the offer. Your trusted contractor in Denver works quickly and conscientiously, processes requests promptly, and visits the site at any time of the day or night. If the ventilation in your home got out of order or the air conditioner went on strike, do not wait for a convenient time to do repairs—let us take care of your comfort!