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4WaystoMeasureAirflow|ServicecontentfromContractingBusiness

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HOME > SERVICE > 4 WAYS TO MEASURE AIRFLOW

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4WaystoMeasureAirflow
Oct3,2014

byRobFalke

President,NationalComfortInstitute
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Its hard to find a practical standard describing how to measure ventilation airflows that can be applied in
the field. Heres how you can determine residential and commercial exhaust fan airflow on a job site.

Whileindustrystandardsspecifyingventilationratesarecomingoutofthewoodwork,a
practicalstandarddescribinghowtomeasureventilationairflowsthatcanbeappliedinthe
fieldishardtofind.Letstakealookhowyoucandetermineresidentialandcommercial
exhaustfanairflowinthefield.

FansatEitherEndoftheDuct
Thismaybeobvious,butitisagoodplacetobeginthisdiscussion.Althoughinlineexhaust
fansexist,mostexhaustfansarefoundateitherthestartofaductorattheendofaduct.
Thisisadefiningcharacteristicofsomeexhaustfansthataffectsthewaywemay
determinefanairflowascomparedtoaforcedairsystemwherefansarelocatedbetween
thesupplyandreturnducts.

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TheDangerousAssumption
Moststandardsarewrittentopersuadedesignerstospecifytheneededairfloworair
changerates.Thesestandardsrequireacalculation,andaspecificationrequiringthatthe
fanshoulddothejob.Withthesetaskscompleted,mostoftheengineeringworldbelieves
thestandardismetandthatventilationneedsareassureddreamonfellas.
Theassumptionthatthefanandductthatwasspecifiedwilldothejobisfarfromrealized.
Thedesignandspecificationmustrequirethattheventilationsystemalsoreceivethe
verificationstepofmeasuring,adjustingandbalancingairflowbyaqualifiedairbalancer.
Withoutthisstepthedesignisonlyawish.
TypicalMeasurementMethods
Therearemanydifferenttypesofventilationsystemsandnotalltherequiredmeasurement
methodscanbediscussedinashortarticle,sowewillreviewthemostcommontest
methods.
1.AirBalancingHoodMeasurement
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Ifyourelucky,andairexhaustfanairflowisbeingpulledfromtheroomthroughagrillethat
isflatagainstaceilingorwall,andthevolumeofairflowisbetween30and2000CFM,usea
calibratedairbalancinghood.Setyouthebalancinghoodtoreadinexhaustmode,securely
placethehoodoverthegrilletocaptureallofthefanairflowcomingthroughthegrille.Then
readandrecordairflow.

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Airflowspecificationsareplusorminus10%ofdesignairflow.Withmostsmallerfansthis
specisadequate.Ifyoureallcaughtupinexactness,forgetaboutit.Ifyoureconcerned
aboutthedeterminingthepreciseamountofductleakage,youreffortisbetterspentin
installingtheductsothatisdoesntleak.

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Whenairflowcannotbemeasureddirectlywithabalancinghood,airflowcanbemeasured
intheexhaustductbyperforminganairflowtraverse.

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2.TraversetheAirflowintheExhaustDuct
Anairflowtraverserequiresatleast5lengthsofstraightexhaustduct.Twoormore3/8in.
testholesarethendrilledintotheduct.Ananemometer,atestinstrumentthatmeasuresair
velocityisusedtodeterminetheaverageairspeedintheduct.Thentheaveragefeetper
minuteismultipliedbytheareaoftheductinsquarefeettodeterminetheairflowmoving
throughtheduct.

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Traversetheairflowintheexhaustduct.

Example:Youhaveabathroomexhaustfandesignedfor200CFM.Thesystemhasan8
in.exhaustduct.Theareaofan8in.ductis.35sq.ft.Youmeasurethevelocityatapoints
intheductandfindtheaveragevelocityintheexhaustductis400FPM.Multiply400Feet
perMinutetimestheareaoftheduct,whichis.35squarefeet,tofind140CFMexhaustfan
airflow.

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3.PlotFanAirflow

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Eachfanmanufacturerpublishesfanperformancetablesforeachfan.Normally,thesefan
tablesareshippedwiththefan,ortheinformationcanbeeasilyfoundonlineatthe
manufacturerswebsite.Inordertointerpretexhaustfanairflow,youmustmeasurethefan
operatingstaticpressureandthefanspeedorRevolutionsPerMinute.Thisfielddatais
thenusedtoplotfanairflow.

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Smallerfansareoftenconstantorsinglespeed.Withthesefans,youarenotrequiredto
measurefanRPM.LargerfansrequirethatyoumeasurethefanRPM.Thisisnormally
doneusinganoncontacttachometerthatreadsRPMfromreflectivetapeaffixedtothefan.

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Exhaustfanperformancechart.

Fanstaticpressureismeasuredusingamanometer(apressuregauge)andahoseortube
andastaticpressuretip.(Seestaticpressurekitspecificationsavailableattheendofthe
article.)
Sincemanyfansarelocatedateitherendoftheduct,theoperatingfanstaticpressureis
measuredasairentersorexitstheexhaustfan.Drillatestholeintheductandreadand
recordthefanstaticpressure.
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Armedwiththefan
operatingstaticpressure
andthefanspeed,goto
themanufacturersfan
tablematchingthefan
beingmeasuredandplot
fanairflow.
Drawalineintersecting
thefanspeedandthefan
operatingstaticpressure
torevealthefanoperating
CFM.

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4.ACombinationofOne
orMoreTestMethods

2015Issue
WhoAreToday's

Becausesomefansare
notinstalledsuitableto
measurefanairflowand
Exhaustfantest.
becauseyouarethejudge
andjuryresponsibleto
determinefanairflow,youwillfindtimeswhereyoumayemploytwoormoreofthetest
methodsabovetogathersufficientdatatrenderyourjudgmentofoperatingfanairflow.The
moredatayougather,themoreaccurateyourairflowdecision.

InnovationLeaders?

NATEMagazine
CurrentIssueMay015

AirflowAwareness
Justbybecomingawarethatairflowshouldandcanbemeasuredwillgetyouintouchwith
theairsideofthesystemsyoudesign,installandservice.
Signuptoreceiveourfreenewsletters

Reviewingthespecificationsofthefansyouuseregularlywillmakeyouawareofthe
limitationseachfanhasandtheinstallationconditionsthatcancausefanstoperformat
50%oftheexpectedcapacity.
Theprimaryreasontomeasureairflowisforyoutodiscoverventilationissuesthatyour
customershavebeensufferingwithforyears.Measuringexhaustairflowbringsopportunity
foryourcustomerstoreceiveimprovedventilationandcomfort.Opportunitycomesyour
waythroughprovidingbetterserviceandincreasedearnings.

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