What is a make up air unit? (2024)

What is a make up air unit?

Make up air units are devices that are designed to compensate for the pressure difference and ensure an adequate supply of filtered air for safety and comfort. Without makeup air systems, sealed structures can suffer from a host of issues caused by negative interior air pressure, including: Contaminants and allergens.

What is the make up air unit?

Make-Up Air units are designed to replace exhaust air by bringing in fresh outdoor air into the space and heating or cooling it to the desired condition and discharge the conditioned or tempered air into the building.

What is the make up air requirement?

New building codes require what is called “make-up air” to be installed when a kitchen ventilation hood exceeds 400 CFM (cubic feet of air per minute).

What is a make up air unit in a high rise building?

Make-up air units are an essential part of a building's ventilation system and are responsible for supplying outdoor air to buildings. These units provide fresh air to the interior of the building, which helps keep the environment healthy and comfortable for occupants.

How does a make up air damper work?

A make up air kit – also called a make up air unit or makeup air system – includes a range hood damper and air pressure sensor that controls the flow of outside air into your home. It attaches to your ducting, and a pressure switch signals to the damper to release and bring fresh air into your home.

What is the difference between a make-up air unit and an AHU?

What is a Make-Up Air Unit? A make-up air unit is one of multiple air handling units (AHU) that HVAC contractors work with and maintain. An AHU is a device used to regulate and circulate air as part of a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system.

What happens if you don't have make-up air?

These units pull outdoor air inside and brings it to the indoor temperature. If you don't have one of these units in your kitchen you'll get back drafting, poor temperature control in your kitchen, negative air pressure, and air quality issues.

What temperature should a makeup air unit be?

To maintain occupant comfort, most design guidance recommends providing a makeup air supply temperature within 10 degrees F of the room temperature. For example, if a house is maintained at 70 degrees F in the wintertime, the makeup air should be provided at a supply temperature of no less than 60 degrees F.

Do makeup air units have filters?

Air make-up units (AMU) provide an economical source of replacement air. AMU filters clean the air entering the AMU.

Does make up air need to be heated?

If you aren't sure, you should always first check with your local authorities for specific requirements. However, in general, heated make up air units are highly recommended for any location where the low temperature in winter falls below freezing. This includes the northern half of the United States and all of Canada.

What are the benefits of make up air units?

A make-up air unit does the job of bringing in outside air to the building, not the circulated air that most ventilation systems use. The make-up air unit also manages the temperature of this incoming air so that it doesn't interfere with the climate controls or harm the energy efficiency of the building.

What is a make up air unit in the hallway?

Make Up Air System (MUA) Installation

They are also used to provide hallway pressurization in multi family buildings such as condos and apartments to ensure the air and smells from the various suites are not pulled into the hallways.

What is make up air unit in condo?

MUAs are a type of air-handling unit that delivers outdoor air to interior spaces. These units are most commonly located on the roof. However, they may also be located inside the building, such as within an attic space or in a parking garage.

Where should make up air be located?

per minute (cfm) be provided makeup air at a rate approximately equal to exhaust. This air has to either be discharged into the same room as the range hood, “or into rooms or duct systems that communicate through one or more permanent openings with the room” where the range hood is installed.

Do I really need make up air for my range hood?

Local building codes may require the use of a makeup air unit based on the CFM of your range hood. Be sure to check into local requirements if you're planning to purchase a new range hood. They may require a makeup air unit for range hoods with CFM above 500.

How is makeup air installed?

Mark the opening on the roof and be sure that the make-up air center line drawn on the roof lines up with the make-up air center line of the curb. Cut the roof opening. Place the curb over the opening and flash it onto the roof deck. Place the unit onto the curb and secure with self-tapping screws.

What is the difference between a furnace and a make up air unit?

The difference between a house furnace and an MUA is that the MUA is always trying to heat outside air, -10C in this case, compared to a home furnace heating up the return air coming back around 20C.

What is the difference between make up air and fresh air?

The difference is slight, outside air (was called fresh air in the past) is used to pressurize the building. Makeup air is air used to replace combustion air for burners, ovens, furnaces and other equipment that needs a lot of air for cooling.

What does the AHU unit stand for?

An Air Handling Unit (AHU) is used to re-condition and circulate air as part of a heating, ventilating and air-conditioning system. The basic function of the AHU is to take in outside air, re-condition it and supply it as fresh air to a building.

Do I need make up air in old house?

Range hoods can be very powerful — jettisoning as much as 1500 cubic feet of indoor air per minute. The International Residential Code doesn't require makeup air for a range hood rated at less than 400 cfm. But above that threshold it's a problem that should be addressed.

Do electric dryers need makeup air?

Makeup air shall be provided for Type 1 clothes dryers in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. [NFPA 54:10.4.

What is a good CFM for range hood?

To power your range hood, you need at least 100 CFM for every 10,000 BTUs of your stovetop. For example, a 100,000 BTU stove needs at least a 1000 CFM range hood. For electric stoves, multiply the stove width by 10. So, for a 42” electric stove you want a range hood with at least 420 CFM.

How cool should my AC be in 100 degree weather?

When outside temperatures are pushing 100 degrees, try setting your thermostat at 78-80 degrees. Supplement the indoor airflow with fans and other strategies to maintain cool temperatures inside.

Can erv provide make up air?

The ERV provides balanced ventilation, where the exhaust and fresh air from outside are typically balanced or equal. It will not 'make-up' the air exhausted.

Is 72 degrees too cold for air conditioner?

We'd actually suggest keeping your home's thermostat in between 72 degrees and 76 degrees to make things as simple and straightforward as possible for your home. It's a reasonable temperature that will keep you cool without overworking your AC.