Measuring Pressure and Airflow in Ducts

Affordable Comfort 2006 TAM 04 Bob Davis, Paul Francisco, Bruce Manclark, Frank Spevak

Why Measure Air Flow?

Capacity and efficiency of ac and heat pumps Safety and longevity of gas furnaces Comfort: Is the conditioned air getting to where the occupants want it (even if we have perfect flow at the furnace)?

Why dont we just trust the system will work?

Guessing usually doesnt work ACs and heat pump require certain air flows to obtain their efficiency and capacity ratings Knowing the airflow on gas furnaces is helpful in solving temp rise issues (too much or too little)
Gas input pressure Orifice size

Measuring Air Flow (Air Handler End)

Knowing the flow within at least 15% will tell you if the system is starting out ok
Is it capable of delivering rated capacity? How much margin is there if the ducts arent perfect?

If the flow is too high/low, you can adjust it (usually) and remeasure. If you are close to (or below) the line on flow, and you cant make adjustments, maybe you need a different air handler, a cleaner coil, duct revisions, or some other remedy.

Lack of Air Flow Through Fan

Fans are just like water pumps
The greater the resistance the fan operates against, the less air the will move Even if fan curve is known, impossible to know CFM exactly, Tests will tell you if you are in the ballpark or the parking lot

Variable Speed (ECM) Fans

Have been touted as the cure for the common cold Do (usually) maintain flow over a wide range of ESP Can use as much energy as (or more energy than) standard fans if pushed to limit May not be as durable as standard fans if run at high ESP

Measuring External Static Pressure

External Static Pressure (ESP) is resistance (supply and return) the fan must operate against The greater the pressure, the less the flow External static over 0.7 might indicate a problem

Easiest Fan Flow Measurement is with Flow Plate

The True Flow is a quick and accurate method of measuring airflow It is also expensive As found supply static P vs static P with plate in is needed for possible correction

Alternate Methods
Flow plates are expensive They dont always fit They usually take longer and arent as accurate

Duct Blaster Matching

Measure normal supply static (NSOP) Attach Duct Blaster to cabinet Block off return Match NSOP Measure flow through DB

Gas Furnace Air Flow

CFM=(input * EFF) (1.08X temp. rise) Example: 80,000Btu/hr.* 80% 1.08 * 55F 64,000 59 CFM=1,084

Electric Furnace/HP Fan Flow

Measure element energy use (clamp around or read electric meter (spin test)) Temp rise can be problematic
How good is device? How many measurements did you take? Avoid seeing elements

Make sure you know which flow you are measuring (check supply plenum static P if you suspect different flows)

Adjusting Fan Flow (PSC)

Adjusting Fan Flow

Can be as easy as selecting a different speed on the fan or control board Can be much harder if ducts are inadequate

Measuring Air Flow, Register End

Air must be delivered at sufficient quantities at the right temperatures to produce comfort. Comfort, not efficiency is what customers demand Even if the fan flow is perfect, the people can still be unhappy

Measuring Register Flows

Results can vary tremendously between different instruments
diffuser type (louvers, net free area) air velocity local turbulence device calibration Technician skill

Know the limits of the equipment before drawing conclusions

How Close is Close Enough?

Within 20% is usually okay unless you are a geek.
If you are measuring register airflow its probably because of a comfort complaint So you are usually trying to measure to the improvement you make to airflow to a register, not know the exact CFM

Knowing exact CFM can help if you are pretty sure you are way under (and may need another run)

Hot Wire Anemometer

Hot wire anemometer infers velocity by how much heat is removed from the resistor. Requires multiple, time consuming measurements.

Vane Anemometer
Vane anemometer measures velocity by revolutions of a propeller. Must average several readings per grille. Requires net free area of register. Can measure wide range of velocities and is not restricted by register size.

Hot Wire Flow Hood

Hot Wire flowhood uses a capture hood to funnel air past a hot wire anemometer grid. Very fast to use. Sensitive to register type.

Turbine Flow Hood

Turbine flowhood funnels air through a known area. Measures air velocity by revolutions of a propeller.
Good to excellent at low flows (<200 CFM). Poor on returns. Confused by some grilles.

Know Your Register

Instruments that do not utilize capture hoods require the net free area of the grille or register. This is the actual space between the blades. Use engineering data when possible. If not available, use these multipliers to go from the nominal area to effective area.
Round Diffuser X .6

Rectangular Diffuser X .6

Four-way Diffuser X .4

Volumetric Capture Hood

Garbage bag formula: ________________ X 0.156 ft3/gallon X 60 sec/minute (bag size in gallons) _______________________________________________ seconds to fill bag Example: 55 gallon X 0.156 ft3/gallon X 60 sec/minute ____________________________________ 4 seconds to fill = _______ CFM

= 129 CFM

Volumetric Capture Flowhood

(under $1)
Garbage Bag Flow
550 525 500 475 450 425 400 375 350 325 300 275 250 225 200 175 150 125 100 75 50 25 0
1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 5.5 6.5 7.5 8.5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1.25 1.75 2.25 2.75 3.25 3.75 8.25

CFM

33 gallon 55 gallon

Seconds to fill bag

8.75

Pressure Grid Flow Hood

Pressure grid flow hoods average pressure through an orifice to determine airflow.
Fast to use Sensitive to register type Often not designed for residential flows Hard to fit into some spaces

Summary
Knowing whats going in to and out of a forced-air system is key to
Knowing whether you have the capacity you think you have Knowing whether you have the efficiency you think you have (need more measurements but youre more than half there) Knowing how much to adjust flow and if youve made enough of an adjustment Knowing why someone isnt comfortable inside the house