Careers

Testing Adjusting & Balancing

What is Testing, Adjusting, and Balancing?

Testing, adjusting, and balancing (TAB) is an important part of air and water delivery systems. TAB technicians make sure that air and water are delivered efficiently, quietly, and safely throughout a building.

As a TAB technician you will be responsible for working on air and water delivery systems to meet the specifications outlined by the design engineer. You must learn how all the parts of HVAC and fluid flow systems analysis and measurements to conduct the right tests, make the correct adjustments, and deal with any problems that occur. If you like math and enjoy the idea of working on complex systems and solving problems, TAB might be a good career choice for you.

Opportunities in this field include:

• Energy management
• Indoor air quality
• Building systems commissioningCommissioning: The process of testing, troubleshooting, and adjusting air handling systems in newly constructed buildings to improve system performance and safety and to reduce energy costs.
• Sound and vibration testing
• Life safety control systems
• HVAC installation or system controls
• System design
• Project management or facility management
• Clean roomClean room: A room that requires a high level of cleanliness or sterility, such as those found in hospitals, laboratories, and certain manufacturing plants. work or certification

TAB: Curriculum

• General care of instruments
• Basics of HVAC
• Airflow and pyschometricsPsychometrics: The study of the properties of a mixture of air and water vapor.
• Heat and heat transfer
• Fundamentals of electricity and electrical measurements
• Motors and starters
• Air pressure, air flow, temperature, and speed measurement
• Duct systems
• Automatic controls
• Fans, fan laws, and V-belt drives
• Balancing methods: proportional and sequential
• HydronicHydronics: The forced circulation of liquids or vapors in an HVAC system to create controlled heat or cooling. systems: pressure and flow measurements
• Pumps and pump laws
• Principles of the cooling towerCooling tower: A specialized heat exchanger that brings air and water together to create a heat transfer and evaporate water in the atmosphere.
• Hydronic balancing: flow meter and thermal method
• Safety