You are on page 1of 1

A VERY GOOD REASON NOT TO USE MANUALLY ADJUSTABLE BALANCING DAMPERS:

100 Pa

100 Pa

.
CONTROL DISC AT 30% CONTROL DISC FULLY OPEN NECK PRESS 37.5 Pa NECK PRESS 94.4 Pa

As am extreme example, let us assume the duct has been correctly designed & the Duct Static Pressure has been set at 100 Pa as the balancing technician feels he would like a safety margin. (Typical VAV box thinking): AT 100%: Diffuser is typically selected for 50Pa (previous example) so normal friction losses expected in the flex is 12.5Pa. The balancing damper has to be adjusted to loose another 50Pa to get to the 37.5 Pa expected in the neck of the diffuser. AT 30%: The setting of the balancing damper has a different effect since Friction Losses over the balancing damper follow the square law:
Duct static Pressure Friction losses across damper & Flex combined @ 100% Flow STATIC PRESSURE IN THE NECK AT 100% FLOW: Friction losses across damper & Flex combined at 30% Flow STATIC PRESSURE IN THE NECK AT 30% FLOW IS THEREFORE = = = = = 100 Pa 62.5 Pa

37.5 Pa
62.5 (30/100)2 = 5.6 Pa

94.4 Pa

RESULT EXCESSIVE NOISE, DRAFTY CONDITIONS AND EXCESS COOLING AT MINIMUM FLOW STATUS

You might also like