Published January 26, 2023

Whatever the reason is that led you to want to know how much air balancing costs, whether you are involved in a commercial project, or you are simply a homeowner wanting to balance their home’s AC system, this article should be able to answer your question.

Vortex Air Balance Co. is a fully certified TAB (testing, adjusting, and balancing) contractor and we have created this article to help make the hard task of choosing the right TAB company a little smoother.

Understanding how much air balancing costs, or should cost, will save valuable time in this search process.

Now let’s answer the question that led you here…

Air Balancing costs anywhere from $150-$300 per hour depending on the project type, difficulty, and size.

As mentioned above, the cost of air balancing depends on 3 main factors: 

• Project Type
• Project Difficulty
• Project Size

Difficulty and project size are self-explanatory, however, let’s break down this cost by project type.

To get straight to the point, commercial TAB can cost anywhere from $200-$300 per hour.

Most air balance companies charge a minimum of 3 hours, so expect that ballpark amount.

Smaller projects such as restaurant hood and small HVAC air balance projects should be able to be completed in this 3-hour minimum.

Larger projects at times may be at slightly lower rates due to the bulk of work needed.

The air balance report also takes time to compile and is included in the hourly rate.

To understand why commercial projects cost the way they do, let’s discuss a few of a TAB firm’s overheads.

For a company to legally perform commercial TAB, they not only have to contain a D-62 contractors license, but they also need to be certified through a qualifying TAB organization and maintain this certification yearly.

The cost of keeping this certification renewed and up to date can run some TAB companies easily 10-15k per year.

This does not include traveling costs to attend classes to learn and recertify each tech.

The law also requires TAB firms to calibrate their equipment every 12 months to maintain maximum accuracy.

This calibration service averages about $600 “per” piece of equipment.

Even the smallest of TAB companies have 6-12 different tools that need to be calibrated each year.

So there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes of a commercial TAB company.

Although the rates may seem steep at first, once you factor in the knowledge needed for this specialty skill, the amount of work involved, the overhead involved, and the importance of this service, the rate falls right into where it should be.

To learn more about why air balancing is so important, visit our article: What is air balancing?

Balancing a residential home can run a home-owner roughly $100-$200 per hour. 

This is a lot less than commercial air balancing projects.

The reason for this is there currently is no calibration or certification maintenance required for a company to perform air balancing on residential projects, at the moment. 

Technically, even an HVAC contractor that does not have an air balancing contractor’s license and does not hold any certifications can legally balance a home as there are simply no laws against it.

Residential air balancing is not even required to be performed by law.

Although it is not required, it does not mean it’s not important, it simply means that the homeowner needs to realize its importance and have it completed on their own behalf.

Unlike commercial building owners, homeowners have two options, they can use an HVAC contractor with enough knowledge to balance their home, or they can use a fully certified TAB contractor.

It is obviously highly recommended to choose a fully certified TAB contractor as you are guaranteed they will complete the task correctly.

Although some TAB companies do not touch residential projects, we here at Vortex Air Balance Co do. 

We understand the importance of balancing any HVAC system whether it’s commercial or residential.

Contact us today to discuss more on balancing your home’s AC system!

Air balancing can cost anywhere from $150-$300 per hour depending on the type, difficulty, and size of task required. 

There are a lot of factors behind the scenes as to why this cost is where it’s at.

The air balance process should not be looked at as a waste of money as it 100% is not, there are so many critical reasons this process is required by law to be performed on all commercial buildings.

If you have any more questions feel free to contact us here at Vortex Air Balance Co!