Air Balance
Builders, raters, and installers use ENERGY STAR’s HVAC System Quality Installation Contractor Checklist (HVAC/C) to document the sizing and testing of HVAC equipment. The requirements from the checklist do not involve the actual installation of specific measures. Rather, these checklist steps verify that a particular procedure was followed or that appropriate information was used in selecting or sizing equipment. This page provides the full language for the selected checklist requirement and shows the applicable footnotes describing how to comply; however, a full measure guide showing installation information is not needed. For information on installing HVAC equipment, see the HVAC System Quality Installation Rater Checklist.
Footnotes:
The footnotes for this measure are listed below. The numbering corresponds to the original checklist document so some numbers may appear out of sequence.
5 For Sections 1 through 5, the “Builder Verified” column shall be used to indicate items verified by the builder (or a firm or HERS Rater hired by the builder). If any Items have been marked “Builder Verified,” then the builder is responsible for these Items and must sign this Checklist. Note that builders are not permitted to verify any Items in Sections 6-12.
6 For Sections 1 through 5, the “Cont. Verified” column shall be used to indicate Items verified by the credentialed contractor (or a firm or HERS Rater hired by the contractor). In contrast, for Sections 6 through 12, the “Cont. Verified” column shall only be used to indicate Items verified by the credentialed contractor (i.e., neither a builder, nor a firm, nor a HERS Rater are permitted to verify Sections 6 - 12). The credentialed contractor is responsible for these Items and shall sign this HVAC System Quality Installation Contractor Checklist.
23 Ducts shall not include coiled or looped ductwork except to the extent needed for acoustical control. Balancing dampers or proper duct sizing shall be used instead of loops to limit flow to diffusers. When balancing dampers are used, they shall be located at the trunk to limit noise unless the trunk will not be accessible when the balancing process is conducted. In such cases, Opposable Blade Dampers (OBD) or dampers located in the duct boot are permitted.