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Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality.

HVAC system design is a sub-discipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer. HVAC is an important part of residential structures such as single family homes, apartment buildings, hotels, and senior living facilities; medium to large industrial and office buildings such as skyscrapers and hospitals; vehicles such as cars, trains, airplanes, ships and submarines; and in marine environments, where safe and healthy building conditions are regulated with respect to temperature and humidity, using fresh air from outdoors.

Ventilating or ventilation is the process of exchanging or replacing air in any space to provide high indoor air quality which involves temperature control, oxygen replenishment, and removal of moisture, odors, smoke, heat, dust, airborne bacteria, carbon dioxide, and other gasses. Ventilation removes unpleasant smells and excessive moisture, introduces outside air, keeps interior building air circulating, and prevents stagnation of the interior air.

The three major functions of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning are interrelated, especially with the need to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality within reasonable installation, operation, and maintenance costs.

HVAC systems can be used in both domestic and commercial environments. HVAC systems can provide ventilation, and maintain pressure relationships between spaces. The means of air delivery and removal from spaces is known as room air distribution.

During cleaning, the entire HVAC system is placed under continuous negative pressure (with a vacuum) to prevent the spread of contaminants.

Continuous negative pressure allows very fine particles to be removed from the system as they become airborne, ensuring that these particles are not released into the living space when the system is turned on after cleaning. This negative pressure also serves to extract the loosened contaminants, which are collected and removed from your home.

With maximized efficiency of your HVAC system, you’ll experience lower energy consumption and reduced energy bills. This also improves the lifespan of your system as regular air duct cleaning is an important part of HVAC maintenance. Each HVAC system has its own needs and factors that affect how often it may need to be cleaned.

One aspect of our commercial air duct cleaning business that our clients love is that if we don’t think your HVAC system is in need of cleaning quite yet, we’ll let you know and won’t perform service if it isn’t necessary. In general, the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA) recommends that ducts be cleaned every three to five years.

Commercial air duct cleaning removes harmful contaminants, debris, dust, and other materials from your HVAC system. These substances can build up in the ductwork of your business over time — especially for businesses that see heavy foot traffic from employees and customers.

Like anything in your business, if it’s left uncleaned for long enough, grime can build up over time. Common materials that are removed from ductwork during commercial air duct cleaning can include bacteria, dust particles, dust mites, pet dander, skin dander, pollen, and lint.

Often HVAC system components collect significant amounts of debris and particulate during construction activities within a building. Five Star Mechanical recommends that newly installed HVAC systems or HVAC systems undergoing renovation be verified clean, and protected before the system is permitted to operate.

Indoor Air Quality

Air cleaning and filtration removes particles, contaminants, vapors and gasses from the air. The filtered and cleaned air then is used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Air cleaning and filtration should be taken into account when protecting our building environments.

Clean air delivery rate (CADR) is the amount of clean air an air cleaner provides to a room or space. When determining CADR, the amount of airflow in a space is taken into account. Along with CADR, filtration performance is very important when it comes to the air in our indoor environment. This depends on the size of the particle or fiber, the filter packing density and depth, and the airflow rate.

Indoor air quality is one concern that building managers and building inhabitants have when they decide to investigate an HVAC system. Through normal occupation in a building, we generate a great deal of contaminants and air pollutants, such as dander, dust, and chemicals.

These contaminants are pulled into the HVAC system and re-circulated 5 to 7 times per day, on average. Over time, this re-circulation causes a build-up of contaminants in the ductwork.

While a contaminated HVAC system doesn't necessarily mean unhealthy air, the situation may be contributing to larger health issues or harboring contaminants that could cause serious problems for people with respiratory health conditions, autoimmune disorders or some environmental allergies.