When it comes to HVAC, no news is good news for 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 a lot like a piano being out of tune. In addition to unhappy customers and employees, these comfort issues typically are indicators of energy inefficiency within a system. So, what can facility managers do to prevent comfort and energy threats?
“Facility managers need to be trained on air balance and push it to their service contractors,” recommends Jeff Dover, resource manager at the Restaurant Facility Management Association.
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 facility 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:
What causes a building to become negative or unbalanced? The usual offenders are equipment deficiencies, improper preventative maintenance programs, and adjustment errors such as 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:
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 more likely will be completed 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.
A 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 T&B 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.”
Whether the previous air balance report has been reviewed or not, proceed to the following steps:
1. Ask the onsite manager what the complaints are from employees and customers.
2. Turn on all HVAC equipment. Verify thermostats are set to “FAN ON”
3. Check building pressure with the flame test in different areas.
4. If the facility is a restaurant, observe smoke capture. Is the hood in the correct overhang position? Are there drafts along the cook line?
5. 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).
6. Inspect the HVAC equipment. Are the filters clean? Are the belts in good condition? Are the exhaust fan wheels clean?
7. Determine an intervention plan:
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 facility 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!
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