Air does care, as it turns out. I vividly recall the constant volume exhaust system that established my confidence in the proportional balance method. It was vast, sprawling throughout a big complex of a building, catching all the odds and ends that didn’t require their own separate fans. Nearing almost 100 inlets, access to the entire system required an obstacle course of flow hood adapters, ladders, and lifts. I was anxious for what multiple days of labor would provide, given that my fully open path was barely 40% of design. As a new hire at the time, I very much wanted to prove my value as well. While I would see gradual changes as I completed my iterative tasks, I wouldn’t have a sense of whether or not I would “make it” until about 20 hours into the process — applying practice to a theory I had previously only tested in smaller quantities.
We testing, adjusting, and balancing (TAB) technicians inhabit and bridge the gap between theory and practice every day. Our role in tuning building systems requires that we accommodate the small and sometimes significant differences across the planned design and the installed conditions. To even begin our work, we must ensure that all trades before us have completed their tasks. We interact with every unit switch or disconnect, all terminal units, every valve, every damper, and each flow and pressure sensor. While the project teams who hire us do their best, a TAB team’s efforts are often spent on quality assurance and resolving issues as much as the science and art of TAB. As with most construction and renovation, open communication and collaboration lead to the best outcomes1.