Air Capture Hoods

Air capture hoods are essential for teams tasked with restoring, operating, and verifying ventilation in mission-critical public safety spaces. When storms, wildfire smoke, chemical releases, or building system failures disrupt operations, agencies need a rapid way to check air changes and balance rooms used for patient care, evidence processing, training, and detention.

How They Help

• Fast Volume Verification: Capture supply and return airflow at diffusers without complex setup.
• Repeatable Readings: Backpressure compensation and flow-straightening help stabilize measurements near turbulent outlets.
• Documented Results: Onboard logging and averaging support work orders, incident records, and compliance documentation.
• Field-Ready Design: Lightweight, rugged frames and multiple hood sizes help fit a wide range of grilles and diffusers.

Common Use Cases

• Re-occupancy checks for command centers, stations, and administrative areas.
• Temporary shelter setup and balancing to support target air changes per hour.
• Verification of negative or positive pressure zones in clinics and isolation areas.
• Evidence room and forensic lab airflow checks to support policy-based ventilation targets.
• Firing range supply/return balancing to help maintain directional airflow.

Selection Considerations

• Hood Size Portfolio: Choose hoods that match your diffuser sizes to reduce measurement error.
• Display and Logging: Look for clear, backlit screens, averaging functions, and exportable logs.
• Compensation Features: Flow-straightening and backpressure compensation help improve stability.
• Portability: Collapsible frames and carry cases support rapid deployment across multiple sites.

Best Practices

• Zero and warm up instruments per manufacturer guidance before critical measurements.
• Take multiple readings and average results where flow is unstable.
• Record diffuser ID, location, setpoint, and measured volume for traceability.
• Pair with a micromanometer and pitot tube for duct traverses when needed.
• Calibrate at recommended intervals to maintain measurement quality.

Training and Support
Agencies benefit from short, scenario-based training covering diffuser selection, hood placement, reading interpretation, and documentation workflows. Calibration programs and loaner services can help minimize downtime during peak response seasons.

By standardizing air capture hood use across facilities, agencies can streamline ventilation checks, reduce rework, and support policy-driven targets tied to industry guidelines such as those published by ASHRAE. The result is faster, data-driven decisions about space readiness and HVAC performance across your public safety footprint.