Rev. 13 November 1, 2016
Page | 59b. The Testing and Balancing Contractor (TBC) shall have a minimum of five years’ experience in testing and
balancing and shall be either AABC or NEBB certified
c. The specifications for testing and balancing shall include:
i. The requirement for two season (heating season and cooling season) balancing of central air handling
units.
ii. A warranty period requiring re-adjustment at the Owner’s request of any component that is not
functioning correctly for a period of 90 days following initial balance.
iii. The requirement for adjusting the system to accommodate comments made by the Design
Professional on the balancing report.
iv. A minimum of five copies of the balancing report shall be submitted.- Pre-Construction Testing
a. Pre-construction testing (also known as benchmarking) shall be considered where renovation or new
construction shall impact airflows or hydronic flows or parts of existing mechanical systems that shall remain.
Pre-construction airflow testing is beneficial where renovation or new construction, without pre-construction
testing, would either:
i. Cause unnecessary disruption to nearby occupants due to the need to rebalance multiple downstream
terminals, or
ii. Create additional overall costs for balancing work at the end of the project. - Design Phase Coordination
a. For phased work, the Design Professional shall meet with one of the possible TBC during the design phase to
give input into the requirements of the project, including the proposed locations of balancing dampers,
balancing valves, and autoflow valves.
b. For phased work, the same TBC shall be used for all phases of the project.
c. The Owner may, depending upon the size and complexity of the project, retain the services of a TBC to
review the 90% review documents to coordinate the optimum placement of dampers, valves, pressure taps,
etc. and to minimize any balancing- related change orders.
d. The specificati ons shall require that the General Cont ractor and all subcontractors fully cooperate with the
TBC during the construction phase and during initial occupanc y.
e. The specifications shall also require that the TBC fully cooperate with the General
Contractor and the Testing and Balancing Contractor. - Airflow Testing and Balancing
a. Specialty balancing items:
i. All air handling units which have been retrofit with ultraviolet emitters shall be rebalanced 45 days
after the emitter installation. The 45 day waiting period will allow the cooling coil to clean itself,
creating a lower air pressure drop across it.
ii. The TBC shall coordinate the calibration of all airflow monitors, isolation rooms, and pressure-
controlled rooms with the Temperature Controls Contractor. - Hydronic Testing and Balancing
a. Specialty balancing items:
i. Branch lines for recirculating domestic hot water shall be balanced by the TBC to ensure flows.
ii. Note that the Mechanical Piping Section requires that HVAC pumps have: