ABSTRACT
The tools used to evaluate the performance of ventilation systems range from merely educating four of the five senses of the human body to the use of sophisticated and expensive equipment such as those required for tracer testing. The four basic senses to be educated or “calibrated” by training and experience are those of hearing, seeing, smelling, and touching. Of all the senses, the sense of sight is easily the most important for performing indoor air quality (IAQ) evaluations. The performance of IAQ evaluations requires a definite “hands-on” approach: opening access doors into large air handling units (AHU), removing access panels in small AHUs, removing ceiling tiles, and taking measurements. Various equipment is available to aid the investigator in the performance of IAQ evaluations and inspections. Pressure-sensing devices are important as part of the IAQ evaluation process because they can indicate several operational characteristics of the ventilation system.
