Why TAB (Testing, Adjusting, and Balancing) Companies Recommend Aeroseal Arabia for Duct Leakage: Q&A
Introduction
Testing, Adjusting, and Balancing (TAB) companies are the specialists called in to ensure that HVAC systems deliver the right amount of air to the right places. They are the professionals who stand between a theoretically designed system and a practically performing one — measuring actual airflows, identifying discrepancies, and adjusting the system until it meets its specification.
TAB companies often encounter duct leakage as the single biggest obstacle to achieving system balance. When a system cannot be balanced, it is frequently because air is escaping through gaps and failures in the ductwork before it reaches the intended spaces. In these situations, no amount of adjustment to dampers or fan speeds can resolve the fundamental problem — the system is losing air, and it needs to be sealed.
The following Q&A addresses the most important questions that TAB companies and their clients have about duct leakage and how Aeroseal Arabia’s technology provides the solution.
Q1: Why would a TAB company recommend duct sealing instead of just adjusting the system?
A: A TAB company’s mandate is to ensure that every space in a building receives the airflow specified by the designer. When the correct airflow cannot be achieved at diffusers, registers, or terminal units, the TAB team investigates why. In many cases, the answer is duct leakage — air is being lost between the air handling unit and the delivery points.
When leakage is the cause of the airflow deficit, adjustment cannot solve the problem. You cannot balance a leaking system by changing damper positions — you can only redistribute the air that is actually reaching the terminal units, which will always be less than what was specified. Sealing the duct system is the prerequisite to successful TAB completion.
Q2: How significant is duct leakage in newly constructed buildings in Saudi Arabia?
A: Duct leakage in new construction is more significant than most people expect. International data consistently shows that commercial duct systems leak between 15 and 25 percent of the conditioned air they carry, even when newly installed. In Saudi Arabia, the combination of construction activity intensity, the scale of projects, and the thermal stress placed on systems during construction-phase cooling means that leakage rates at commissioning are frequently at the higher end of this range.
For a TAB team trying to achieve ±10 percent of design airflow at every terminal unit, a system losing 20 percent of its air to leakage is not a minor calibration challenge — it is a fundamental system deficit. Addressing the leakage first gives TAB the foundation it needs to succeed.
Q3: What makes inaccessible ductwork such a challenge for TAB?
A: The majority of a building’s ductwork is hidden above suspended ceilings, in wall chases, and in vertical risers. Once a building’s finishes are complete, these sections of duct are inaccessible without significant and costly demolition work. Traditional duct sealing with mastic or tape requires physical access to every joint and seam — which is simply not possible in a finished building.
This means that even when a TAB team identifies that leakage is preventing system balance, conventional sealing methods can only address a fraction of the actual leaks. The inaccessible sections of ductwork — which in a completed commercial building represent the vast majority of the total duct length — remain unsealed, and the system balance problem persists.
Q4: How does Aeroseal Arabia’s technology solve the inaccessible ductwork problem?
A: Aeroseal’s patented technology seals ductwork from the inside, using the duct system itself as the delivery mechanism for the sealant. The duct system is pressurized, and a safe, non-toxic aerosolized sealant is injected into the airstream. The sealant particles travel with the air and collect at the edges of any leak point — joints, seams, gaps, and small holes — where they accumulate and form a seal.
Because the sealant is delivered by the air pressure itself, it reaches every part of the duct system, including sections that are completely inaccessible from the outside. No demolition, no ceiling removal, no disruption to finished surfaces. The process can be completed in a building that is already occupied, and the results are verified in real time with computerized before-and-after leakage measurement.
For TAB companies, the Aeroseal process provides a complete and documented solution to the duct leakage problem — not a partial fix that leaves the most problematic sections of the system untreated.
Q5: In what types of projects do TAB companies most frequently recommend duct sealing?
A: The following project types generate the highest frequency of TAB-driven duct sealing recommendations in Saudi Arabia:
- Hospitals and healthcare facilities: Critical pressure relationships between zones — positive pressure in operating theatres, negative pressure in isolation rooms, pressure cascade sequences in pharmacy and laboratory areas — cannot be achieved or certified if duct leakage is disrupting the pressure balance. TAB certification for healthcare occupancies is effectively impossible in a system with significant duct leakage.
- Data centers and server rooms: Airflow precision requirements in data center cooling systems are exceptionally demanding. Duct leakage creates hot spots, undermines hot/cold aisle containment, and prevents the airflow balance that protects hardware from thermal damage.
- New commercial buildings: Where commissioning testing reveals leakage rates that prevent achieving design airflow at terminal units, TAB teams routinely recommend sealing before proceeding with final system balancing.
- Government and institutional buildings: Where energy performance contracts or LEED certification requirements impose measured airflow performance standards that cannot be met with a leaking duct system.
Q6: What documentation does Aeroseal Arabia provide that TAB teams can use?
A: Aeroseal Arabia provides a comprehensive Certificate of Completion for every duct sealing project. This document includes the pre-seal duct leakage measurement (in CFM at the test pressure), the post-seal duct leakage measurement, the percentage leakage reduction achieved, and the final leakage rate as a percentage of system airflow.
This documentation serves multiple purposes for TAB teams and their clients: it provides objective evidence that the duct system has been sealed to a measurable standard, it establishes the system’s post-sealing leakage rate for energy performance calculations, and it provides the compliance documentation needed for LEED assessments, healthcare accreditation processes, and government building energy performance requirements.
Q7: How does duct sealing affect the TAB process itself?
A: Sealing the duct system before final TAB significantly simplifies the balancing process. With leakage eliminated, the system is delivering the full designed airflow through the terminal units rather than losing a fraction of it to ceiling voids and wall cavities. Damper positions calculated from design airflow targets are much more accurate. The number of adjustment iterations required is reduced.
TAB companies consistently report that sealed systems are easier and faster to balance than leaking ones — and that the results they achieve and document in their balance report are more stable over time, because a sealed system maintains its balance as pressures and operating conditions vary.
Q8: Is Aeroseal Arabia’s technology appropriate for Saudi Arabia’s climate and building types?
A: The Aeroseal sealant is tested and certified for use in the full range of temperatures encountered in Saudi Arabian built environments, including the extreme temperatures in plant rooms, roof spaces, and external risers. The sealant is non-toxic, water-based, and has been approved for use in healthcare environments.
Aeroseal Arabia has delivered duct sealing projects across hospitals, hotels, commercial towers, government buildings, data centers, and industrial facilities in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al Khobar. The technology is backed by over 13 years of operational experience in the Kingdom.
Conclusion: The TAB-Aeroseal Partnership
TAB companies are often the first professionals to encounter duct leakage as an operational problem. When they identify leakage as the barrier to system balance, recommending Aeroseal Arabia’s duct sealing service is the most complete, documented, and non-disruptive solution available in Saudi Arabia.
If you are a TAB company working on a project where duct leakage is preventing system balance, or a consultant specifying commissioning requirements for a new project, contact Aeroseal Arabia to discuss how our duct sealing technology can support your commissioning program.
