Many commercial buildings and businesses often suffer from an HVAC unit with imbalanced air pressure. Many symptoms of imbalanced air pressure will be doors opening or closing on their own. Depending on the type of imbalanced pressure problem you might have, you and your patrons could also experience a door that feels heavy when opening and closing. Ambient Heating & Air Conditioning will fully explain this phenomenon, why it occurs, and how you can remedy this problem.

Imbalanced Air Pressure Can Be a Result of Poor HVAC Installation

If the heating, and cooling ventilation was poorly installed, the usual result is an imbalance in the air pressure. When this happens you can either have a negative or a positive imbalance. Each will have their own common symptoms. Additionally these problems will lead to higher energy expenses.

Negative Air Pressure in Home

Negative air pressure means there is lower air pressure inside the space than on the outside. When the air pressure is lower on outside, it will cause the air to get sucked inside the building. This will make the door feel heavy when exiting the building. This often makes patrons feel trapped and uncomfortable. Additionally, inward opening doors will open on their own.

Positive Air Pressure Ventilation

A positive air pressure means there is more air trapped inside than outside. This imbalance of air pressure causes the opposite effect. This high air pressure will force the air out which often leads to doors opening outward on their own. Doors will also feel heavy or difficult to open from the outside when pushing inwards.

Causes of Imbalanced Room Air Pressure

Raising Hot Air – As warm air rises inside a building in a multi-floor building, it will cause a negative air pressure on the lower floors. Furnaces and large fireplaces also draw the hot air up and out of the vents; this additionally causes negative air pressure because too much air is being forced out through the vents.
Exhausts Fan – Much like the combustible appliances, exhaust fans create a negative air pressure by pulling too much air out. In a business such as restaurants, this can become a major problem in the kitchen. Negative pressure in a kitchen can cause back-drafting from the cooking appliances that can leave harmful toxins in the air such as carbon monoxide.
Leaking Air Ducts – Air ducts that were poorly installed or in poor condition can produce leaks. These leaks can cause your air distribution to compress the air inside the building, which causes many types of air pressure problems. You will find that smaller rooms in a commercial building will create positive air pressure, while the larger areas will have a negative air pressure effect. This problem is easy to identify for it will have a high pitch whistling sound.

Air Conditioning & Heating Services & More in Springfield, Granby, Holyoke, South Hadley, Monson, Chicopee City & Agawam Massachusetts

It is important if your business has imbalanced air pressure to contact a professional HVAC company to help balance the air pressure in your building. Ambient Heating & Air Conditioning know how imbalanced air pressure can affect one’s business. It can make their patrons feel uncomfortable and will also leave them with a higher energy bill. If your business seems to be affected by imbalanced air pressure, contact Ambient Heating & Air Conditioning today.