Ventilation and Air Balancing: Saving the 9-5 Work Day

Ventilation and Air Balancing: Saving the 9-5 Work Day

Air quality in the work space is something we all take for granted…until that air quality decreases. Often the importance of a well-maintained heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system is overlooked, even though it provides everyone with clean breathing air every day.

It is up to HVAC technicians to ensure that these systems keep running efficiently.

Importance of good working conditions

Closed environments are the perfect breeding grounds to spread illness, bacteria, and other pollutant that may be airborne. This is the case for most work spaces, where if one person gets sick, it is very easy for others to end up sick. Another example of the interconnected effects on the work environment is if sunlight comes beaming through the window, it can instantly change the temperature of a room, especially if you cannot open any windows. Both of these examples are ingredients for uncomfortable working conditions. This can hurt productivity and efficiency for a business. To control these types of factors that affect productivity, HVAC technicians must closely monitor the indoor air quality (IAQ)

Good IAQ is a result of ventilation practices that involves measuring and testing the following factors regularly:

  • Temperature
  • Humidity
  • Carbon monoxide (CO)
  • Volatile organic compounds (VOC)
  • Absolute pressure 

The next step is control the even airflow through a building. In order to do so, technicians need to review air balancing. This takes into consideration the direction the building is facing. For example, a room facing north would receive more sunlight, and therefore heat, than rooms facing other directions. Because of this, normal air-conditioning levels won’t be enough to keep the room cool. But if you were to solely crank up the AC, the rooms facing south, east and west will become too cool. Air balancing involves measuring air flow with velocity instruments in order to find and adjust to an equilibrium that works for every room.

It goes without saying that monitoring these conditions is a very particular process. HVAC technicians need instruments that provide accurate measurements, are reliable, state of the art, and convenient. This is where the Testo 440 comes in.

Measure ventilation and air balancing with confidence using the Testo 440.

Measuring air velocity and IAQ with testo 440

The Testo 440 is designed specifically with HVAC technicians in mind. Volume flow, K factor and degrees of turbulence, heating/cooling output, mould detection and long-term measurements are easily accessible through its intuitive menu system. Data collected is wirelessly sent via a bluetooth probe to the Test 440. This means that there are fewer cables, resulting in greater efficiency for your day-to-day use.

Can it get any better? Yes, it can! This velocity and IAQ measuring instrument is suitable for all air-conditioning applications. This reduces your need for any other devices. The probes are flexible, capable of being extended so that you don’t need any other accessories or probes. Furthermore, the Testo 440 does not need to be calibrated, so there’s no down time.

Interested in learning more about the Testo 440, and our other HVAC devices we have on offer?  Contact the Testo team today.