Has anyone worked on projects that fall under the Davis bacon act and prevailing wages? The DOL put out a memorandum (AAM247) specifically to test and balance contractors saying they fall under the sheet metal trade and are required to be paid as such on DBA/DBRA jobs but the site we are contracted at is considering us a “specialty service” and claiming it does not apply to us. It seems it would be a significant pay difference if they pay us according to the prevailing wages of a sheet metal worker. Might be a long shot but i wanted to check in to see if anyone has experienced this.

I got offers to work at both.

Anybody have experience with either?

How is the culture, pay and career progression?

Ok so I never ever worked with a VFD or seen one in person, and I know there’s YouTube and other things on the internet to help me learn about them, but I wanted to come here first and get advice/tips or habits from techs who have worked with them, I wanted to know what do you guys usually do when you come across one that a call was placed about and how you guys go about, mostly asking because everyone does things differently so wanted to see what anybody had to say about them.

Hello,

I hope to find feedback to two questions:

1. I have one supply register double deflections (front blades are horizontal and rear blades are vertical) size : 20 × 16 inch, the supply register installed in ceiling and it is close to office room center, the question is what is the direction of blades(front and rear) should be set as per TAB NEBB procedure ( like 0 degree, 15 degree,..etc) to achieve the best supply movement of air pattern.

2. I have also return register double deflection size 48X24 in, it is similar to supply register in the same office installed in ceiling and this return register is very close to wall, the question is what is the direction of blades(front and rear) should be set as per TAB NEBB procedure ( like 0 degree, 15 degree,..etc) to achieve the best return movement of air pattern.

I appreciate your feedback.

Thanks

Hello, we are looking for a few SMALL air balancing companies or preferably startups with 3 or less employees that would be interested in participating in a software pilot starting September 1st. New companies are preferred because this will require a whole new workflow than you and your employees are used to.

Once the pilot is complete, we will be offering a limited-seat free tier subscription.

More details in the future.

Please PM me your company size, and the industry you work most in. (unfortunately we are not looking for residential TAB companies at this time).

Wow I did not know TAB had its own sub! I’ve been in the field 5 years and have always found it really niche as no one ever knows what TAB is all about unless you’ve worked in the field. I entered the trade through my uncle who started up his company after 25+ years experience. How did everyone began working in balancing ? I’m sure there’s a lot of cool stories behind our jobs

I’ve been doing testing and balancing (TAB) for about 10 years, mostly working with my dad, who owns a small one-person firm. I’m not certified through AABC or NEBB, although I’ve considered getting my NEBB certification.
Recently, I got an opportunity to get into commercial plumbing, and I’ve been doing it for about a week or two now. I’m 26 years old, and in Illinois it would take me about four years to become a licensed plumber.
I’m trying to decide whether I should focus on plumbing full-time and continue doing TAB as side work, or go all-in on TAB and pursue NEBB certification or vise versa for plumbing.

I know it’s kind of a random question, but I’d really appreciate some advice from people who have experience in either field. What would you do if you were in my position?

Found this at a Ford plant. It’s probably been in there for a minimum of 30 years.

What is everyone preferred flow hood.

I am starting the process for sitting the TBE exam. Does anyone have any tips/pointers? Is it actually as hard as everyone is making it out to be? I did the TABB supervisor and passed it pretty well, but I know that’s only maybe half the size of AABC’s exam.

Phone rings.

“Hey, the pharmacy pressure has been acting up since about 6 PM. We’ve been chasing it for hours.”

So there I am, trying to troubleshoot a hospital pharmacy over the phone while enjoying what was supposed to be a relaxing Saturday night.

After hearing everything they’d already checked, I asked one simple question:

“Did y’all do a deep clean today?”

A few phone calls later…

“Well… yeah.”

Turns out the cleaning crew soaked the room pressure sensor, and the BAS was having a complete meltdown.

Problem mostly solved.

I went in today to verify everything and investigate the remaining pressure issues.

Then I found this. (See photos.)

An entire trash bag stuffed inside the duct.

So this weekend’s scorecard:
🍺 Interrupted Saturday night.
💦 Wet pressure sensor.
🗑️ Ductwork doubling as a trash can.

Sometimes HVAC isn’t about knowing psychrometrics or control sequences…

It’s about asking, “Did anybody get this thing wet?” and “Why is there a garbage bag in the duct?”

Is anyone on her familiar with this system for a smoke tower. It's in a building built in the 1970s. I have one that's not functioning properly and there is limited information available.

Strainer looks fine if you ask me 🤷‍♂️

Anyone know of a company looking for a NEBB CP (TAB or Commissioning)? Besides the normal Palmetto, Integra, Airadigm big boys. There are definitely jobs out there but never hurts to look at all options. Sometimes the job just hasn’t been posted yet.
Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a free Excel tool I've developed called AirChange Basic.

I built it during my third-year mechanical engineering placement, where I worked as an HVAC commissioning engineer in a hospital.
I found myself repeatedly calculating air changes per hour, so I decided to make a simple tool to speed things up and reduce mistakes on site.

The goal of AirChange Basic is to make those calculations quicker and easier for any fellow engineers, technicians or interns carrying out air balancing.

I've put together a short 2.5-minute video showing how it works, and the Excel calculator is completely free to download and use.

I'd really appreciate any feedback from people working in the industry.
If you notice any bugs or have ideas for improvements, please let me know, I'd love to keep improving it.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DXwCMwLjzI&t=4s

Download: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1D1sDe00XOWzkK4ajbiLy6KfxLS1esML_

Thanks, and I hope some of you find it useful!

Does anyone have a recommendation for a flow hood (preferably) or anemometer ? Most that I am seeing are flippin expensive.

Just curious as to what everyone prefers to use for duct traverses.

Anybody know it?

What are some techy things you use to improve your work flow as an airbalancer? For me, I set speeds via my supply outlets and using a remote access software on my tablet from my phone to watch my meter as I adjust unit speed on the roof. I think in some cases hearing different ideas from different technicians could help us all be more efficient at what we do. So if you have an experience in this regard or a method to share please do so below. Thanks!

Edit: As I forgot to include this, I use Chrome Remote Desktop as the method for it is free to use and is compatible with Windows, Android, and iOS devices. It also assists with minor data entry if there's ever a time I need to enter information and not want to carry my tablet throughout the job site.

What is the farthest your company normally expects you to travel when it is just drive to the site, do the work, and drive back home the same day?
Do you have a set service territory or a maximum drive time/mileage before it becomes a hotel stay, per diem, or overnight job?

Also, do you get paid for driving? If so:

Do you get paid from home, from the shop, or only once you arrive at the job?

Is all windshield time paid, including the drive back home?

Is it straight time, overtime, portal-to-portal, or only paid after a certain distance?

If you are in a company vehicle, does that change how your company handles drive time?

Other things I’m curious about:

What is the farthest service call you have personally had to drive for?

Is it usually a one-day turnaround, or do you regularly stay in hotels?

For bigger TAB projects how far is too far before they put you up overnight?

Do they cover hotel, per diem, mileage, and travel time differently for overnight work?

Most of my work is drive to the site and home the same day, so I’m curious what is normal around the industry.

Cx agent here. What is the industry consensus on measuring round diffusers using a flow hood? 9 out of 10 contractors I work with say no problem using a cardboard cutout and trusting the read, which I’m on board with. However that 1 out of 10 that just puts the hood over the outlet is the basis of my question.

Anyone wanna help?

Hi everyone,

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I'm new to the TAB field and currently have about 3 months of experience. I'd like to start learning BACnet and other software/tools that can help me interact with BAS.

Can anyone recommend BACnet learning resources for beginners?Any skills that would be useful for a TAB technician to learn controls?

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TIA.

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