Do I Need a Make Up Air Unit?
In larger buildings and locations, there is often a problem with infiltration of contaminated or unheated air. This creates a problem with both the pollution and air quality inside the building as well as the temperature within the location. Obviously, the more unheated air infiltrates the building then the more a heating unit will have to be used to make up for that difference, creating increased costs for energy usage. There is an easy way to fix this problem, however, and that is the use of a make up air unit.
Make up air units are used to create the necessary replacement air within a larger building or locations. This type of air source allows the replacement air to be filtered and heated properly, ensuring that problems with air quality and excessive energy use for heating are eliminated. For this reason, make up air units are often an integral part of a building’s heating and ventilation system. Unfortunately, many building owners and office managers don’t know how to recognize the signs of when a make up air unit is needed.
One of the first things you need to look for when deciding whether or not a make up air unit is needed in your building is whether you are getting back drafts or cold drafts in your building. This is often noticed by cool drafts hitting your employees or by dust and dirt being sucked in to your building when doors are opened. Drafts being pulled in are also often accompanied by a tendency for the building doors to be difficult to open. The lack of replacement air in the building causes these issues. In these situations, a make up air unit is needed to balance out that negative indoor pressure that results from air being exhausted from the building. Once the make up air unit is installed, these problems will disappear almost instantly.
Other problems which necessitate the use of a make up air unit have to do with ventilation. Often this causes problems which are harder to track, like employees suffering from frequent headaches or nausea. It’s critical to provide proper ventilation for your employees, and a make up air unit is the most efficient way to do this.