How do Ducts Work in Buildings? Why is Testing Their Operability as Well Critical to Ensure System’s Efficiency?
The ducts are an essential component of your building's central HVAC system, providing more opportunities to improve energy efficiency, comfort, and, as a result, manage your electric bills. Many studies have shown that leaky ducts waste 10-30% of HVAC air, as well as the money spent to heat or cool your indoor air. Precisely sized, sealed, and installed ductwork significantly improves the efficiency of heating and cooling units.
However, power outages are not the only issue to be concerned about. Duct units ensure the comfort of the building's occupants as well as the quality of the indoor air. Testing the building ducts will assist you in locating damage or leaks so that you can focus on repairing them as soon as possible. An optimally functioning HVAC system reduces overall power consumption – especially during the summer, when air conditioners work harder, putting strain on the electric system – and provides cleaner air and greater comfort in every room.
Your duct system
In most small commercial and residential
central HVAC units, conditioned air is delivered to each room in the building
via supply ducts and returned to the air conditioner or furnace via return
ducts. The condition of both sections of ductwork is critical to the overall
efficiency of your HVAC system.
What can possibly go wrong?
Air vents through defectively connected or
deteriorated ducts in some properties frequently result in little conditioned
air reaching your work or living space, leaving the space either too cold or
too warm. If the return-duct system is leaking, stale and polluted air may be
drawn in and distributed throughout the building. The air could be coming from
a crawl space, an attic, or combustion air from a clothes dryer, a gas furnace,
a water heater, or a stove. If the supply duct leaks, the building may become
depressurized, and air from outside may be drawn into the duct system and
distributed throughout the structure. In either case, the indoor air quality
may suffer.
How do you know if your duct system is
working well?
A ductwork test using duct pressure drop
calculator software, such as the DOLPHIN ductwork system program, is the most dependable and cost-effective way to find out.
Ductwork testing is the process of using a calibrated mechanical solution to
measure the amount of airflow lost through the duct system, particularly when
it reaches normal operating pressure. When certain seams or joints have only
leaks, the adjacent sections may as well be disconnected. Ductwork testing
indicates the relative leakiness of the system, helping you in determining
whether the duct should be sealed, renovated, or repaired.
When should you test your ductwork?
When installing a new HVAC unit, ductwork
testing is recommended. If the existing duct unit is inefficient or leaky
before a new unit is installed, it will remain so after the new unit is installed
– unless the ductworks are thoroughly tested and sealed by an experienced
professional. It makes no sense to install a brand new, energy-efficient HVAC
unit unless the duct unit is also energy efficient.
When performing a diagnostic tune-up on an
HVAC unit, it is strongly recommended that you test your ductwork. A diagnostic
tune-up improves the operating efficiency of the HVAC unit, but the overall
efficiency will be less than 'ample' if the duct system is in poor condition. A
ductwork system program is required to identify potential repairs, renovations,
or leaks. The testing can be done at any time, regardless of whether a new
energy efficiency tool is being installed. It is not uncommon to discover that
repair, renovation, or sealing are required to supplement an all-inclusive HVAC
installation process.
DOLPHIN duct and fitting pressure loss
calculation – what about it?
This is a computer program developed and
designed by ACADS-BSG to aid in the development of service designers. DOLPHIN –
the duct and fitting pressure loss calculator estimates the pressure loss of a
set of ducts and fittings, allowing you to determine the fan pressure required
for your duct network. You enter the ducts by starting at the fan and working
your way down to a specific terminal. The fittings for each duct that has
entered have been selected, and the DOLPHIN program has estimated the pressure
loss in each length of duct and each fitting. Supply ducts and fittings are
displayed on a single screen, while return ducts are displayed on two screens.
This program could as well size selected ducts with the use of an entered
Pressured drop or meter.
Every month of the year, this program
performs an hourly cooling load evaluation with thermal storage on a design
day. DOLPHIN is also capable of calculating the heating load for each AHU.
Furthermore, if you are looking for a
computer program that can perform a psychometric analysis for each AHU with
coil performance indicated as a by-pass factor, DOLPHIN is an excellent choice.
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