One of the biggest complaints that commercial HVAC companies hear about is the lack of heating or cooling in specific offices. Often this comes down to either a design issue or unauthorized modification of the system. In may smaller office buildings the type of HVAC system installed is often a constant volume system, where the airflow into specific area is not regulated. In many cases this type of system is used in order to keep building costs down.
While this type of system works well, it can have design issues. Imagine a row of offices with a southern exposure, where the summer sun is beating down of the windows for most of the day. All of the offices are being supplied by a single HVAC unit, which is pumping air out at a constant rate. The thermostat is also located in the last office in row and continues to send a message to the HVAC unit to send more air until the temperature is met at the thermostat. Depending upon the season, this causes more and more hot or cold air to go into the offices closer to the mechanical unit. As a result, those occupants feel either hot or cold, depending upon the season!
Often mechanical contractors will find that the problem has been made worse due to unauthorized modifications to the HVAC system. Often these modifications involve blocking either the return air or supply air feeding the office. This effects the “balancing” of the system, which makes the issues worse!
There are real solutions available to modify an existing constant volume system to make individual offices more comfortable. A qualified HVAC contractor will be able to survey your office space and make specific recommendations that are easy and affordable.
