Appropriate ventilation is essential to maintain good Indoor Air Quality and keep the air fresh in residential homes. Windows and mechanical systems go hand in hand to provide that and keep the living space free from pollutants.

There are ways to control the amount of fresh air that is coming into the unit. One of those is by adding a control volume damper which will be calibrated by the Testing and Balancing (TAB) contractor to set the amount of airflow that is required per the space design intent. Often, this little “L” shaped apparatus can be overlooked and left uninstalled during construction. This, in turn, creates a lot of issues for the TAB contractor in attempting to regulate the airflow for some spaces downstream of the apparatus.

Part of the commissioning process is to verify that the balancing devices are installed according to design so that the balancer can run the unit and set the amount of air which, in turn, will benefit the occupants with good Indoor Air Quality (IAQ).