HVAC Meter / HVACR Tester

Temperature and humidity play vital roles in the HVAC industry. The HVAC system itself is meant to regulate indoor air temperature and humidity. Therefore, ambient temperature and humidity measurements taken with the right HVAC meter provide decisive guidance as to whether or not an HVAC system is operating properly. Measurements of the temperatures of various HVAC system components, such as heating pipes and radiator supply lines, also can reveal important diagnostic information.

When monitoring the temperature of a heating pipe with an HVAC meter, a temperature sensor should be mounted to the pipe to measure both the flow and the return temperatures. For measurements of boiler, radiator or floor heating system temperatures, an infrared thermometer or thermal imaging camera comes in handy, as these types of HVAC meters measure surface temperatures quickly and easily without contact. To evaluate the performance of a water heater based on water temperature, a thermometer with an immersion sensor is the best HVAC meter to use.

Several multipurpose HVAC meters exist for measuring both temperature and humidity. Often referred to as thermo-hygrometers, these combination thermometer-hygrometer products can be used for ambient non-contact or direct contact temperature measurements. PCE Instruments (PCE) carries a variety of thermo-hygrometers specially designed for quick and easy use in HVAC industry applications. Depending on the specifications of the model, PCE's HVAC thermo-hygrometers can be used for on-the-spot measurements of temperature and humidity or for continuous monitoring of indoor environmental conditions. An HVAC thermo-hygrometer capable of continuous monitoring often has a built-in datalogger that saves temperature and humidity measurements to the internal memory of the HVAC meter or to a removable SD memory card.

Many HVAC thermo-hygrometers also calculate the dew point. For an HVAC technician, the dew point serves as a key indicator as to whether or not an HVAC system is adequately controlling the amount of moisture in an indoor space. Too much moisture can lead to the growth of toxic black mold, causing a serious health hazard.

Another key variable used to assess heating and cooling system performance with the help pf a HVAC meter is airflow. The instrument of choice for testing the output and input of HVAC supply and return vents is an anemometer. Handheld impeller anemometers with capture or flow hood attachments are used frequently by HVAC contractors for taking airflow measurements. A flow hood is placed over the vent to isolate the airflow while the impeller anemometer measures the air speed or velocity and calculates the volumetric flow rate.

Alternatively, the probe of a hot-wire anemometer can be placed directly into an air duct to measure the air speed. The advantage of using a hot-wire anemometer is that low-velocity airflows also can be measured. Thus, a hot-wire anemometer is suitable not only for checking ducts, but also for checking window seals as part of an energy audit.

For high-velocity airflow measurements, a digital manometer is the right HVAC meter to use. A digital manometer with a pitot tube can be used to measure airflow and duct velocities. A digital manometer also can be used to determine total external static pressure, zone differential pressure and manifold pressure.

In the HVAC industry, contractors and technicians frequently are tasked with looking inside heating and cooling system components to find faults. In many instances, there is little access to these components. For these scenarios, PCE Instruments recommends using a borescope inspection camera as an HVAC meter. Also called industrial endoscopes, borescope inspection cameras come in various cable diameters and lengths allowing unique access to hard-to-reach parts. The photo and video recording capabilities of a borescope inspection camera can be used to document visible damages.