Step 5 Pressure Balancing of The Seven Steps of Building a Synergy Home. Air that is supplied to a room needs a return pathway back to the air handler when the door is closed.

1. Step 5
Pressure Balanced
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2. The 7 Steps of Building a Synergy
Home
• Airtight Construction.
• Fresh Air Ventilation.
• Improved Thermal Systems.
• Properly Sized, Designed, Installed, and
Commissioned HVAC System.
• Pressure Balanced.
• Moisture Managed.
• Combustion Safety.
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3. Pressure balancing is simple,
inexpensive, and absolutely
necessary in achieving a
“Synergy Home”.
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4. We simply want to…
• Build the House as Tight as
Possible to the Outside.
• Build the House as Leaky as
Possible to the Inside.
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5. Install returns, jumper ducts, or transfer
grilles in all bedrooms so that the air has a
return path if the doors are closed.
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6. Examples of jumper ducts installed
in a home.
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7. A nice way to advertise pressure
balancing.
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8. What happens if you do not have proper
return pathways and you close your
bedroom doors?
• Air that is supplied to the bedroom cannot be
returned to the air handler to be reconditioned.
• The bedroom becomes pressurized and air is forced
out of the room through holes in the envelope.
• The main body of the home becomes depressurized
and outside air is pulled in from unintended places.
• There are temperature differences throughout the
home.
• Undercutting doors does not work.
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9. Installing jumper ducts keeps the
homeowner from having to change
multiple filters. It also eliminates
the need to balance the return
ductwork.
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10. Symptoms of pressure issues
• Interior doors close when your unit starts up.
• You smell your fireplace when your heating
system starts up.
• Temperature differences occur throughout the
home. For example, in an effort to become
comfortable in your Master bedroom, you adjust
the thermostat so that the rest of the home is
uncomfortable.
• There are markings or stains under and around
interior door frames.
• Your home is dusty.
• Your home has odors.
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11. Make sure there are no duct leaks!
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12. Adding jumper ducts in the
bedrooms of an existing home
along with increasing the existing
return duct size is a simple fix for
many homes!
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13. The net difference in the supply
side leakage and the return side
leakage causes increased air
infiltration in the home. Moving
ducts into the conditioned space
helps eliminate this.
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14. We use a manometer to confirm that
there is 3 Pascal or less pressure
differential between a bedroom and
the main body of the home.
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15. Important Tips For Pressure
Balancing
• Build the house as tight as possible to the
exterior.
• Add fresh air ventilation.
• Properly Size, Design, Install, and Commission
your HVAC System.
• Bring the ducts into the conditioning space.
• Install returns, transfer grilles, or jumper ducts
in every bedroom.
• Test and confirm every step! •15