Causes of Imbalanced Air Pressure in Your Business Premises
Your commercial air conditioning system is not exclusively tasked with heating and cooling your business. It is also responsible for ensuring that the air pressure in your premises is balanced. Various problems would arise from imbalanced air pressure. For example, if the system has a problem with positive pressure, you will find the air being forced out of the system is high causing doors and windows to fly open on their accord and this can have the potential of injuring people. Conversely, negative air pressure will result in air from the outdoor being sucked into your premises since the indoor air pressure is low. This negative air pressure also makes it difficult to open doors that are inward shutting, posing the risk of trapping people inside a room. Read on to find out some of the reasons why your HVAC system can cause air pressure imbalance.
Rising of hot air
As hot air rises to the upper levels of your building, it can cause negative air pressure at your lower floors. In addition to this, any appliances used for combustion such as furnaces, which excessively draw the warmer air upward and out of your premises, will eventually lead to negative air pressure. It would be important to have an HVAC technician come and balance the way hot air is eliminated from your premises.
Compromised exhaust fans
Another cause for imbalanced air pressure is if your exhaust fans are overworking. If the exhaust fans are eliminating significant volumes of air from your premises, it directly translates into negative air pressure inside the building. This problem is particularly common in commercial kitchens that require multiple exhaust fans to keep the space cool. If the exhaust fans are removing excessive amounts of hot air, it poses the risk of backdrafts in cooking appliances, in fireplaces and other types of equipment that release hot air. This negative air pressure can then pose the risk of toxic gases such as carbon monoxide accumulating in the premises, which is a serious health hazard.
Damaged ducts
Your HVAC ducts are responsible for ensuring adequate distribution of air around your business premises. If the ducts start to leak because of poor installation or formation of holes, then your building will be exposed to an array of air pressure problems. For instance, the air being directed into enclosed spaces will lead to positive pressure since there will be poor circulation. This increased positive pressure inadvertently causes negative air pressure in other parts of your building.
