Air conditioning Fan coils/chilled beams
Advanced Air UK believes that fan coils, like the one pictured, can be far more flexible than chilled beams
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every fan unit. In such a case, the initial costs solely for the units would be two to three times higher. This overlooks a potentially significant saving available with chilled beams.’ However, Andrew Sargent, general manager of Advanced Air UK, which offers both types of system, insists that fan coil units’ advantages over chilled beams don’t stop at lower capital cost: ‘Fan coils are far more flexible in terms of churns and changes to the office layout.
‘Because they are located in the false ceiling, there
is a lot more latitude in terms of where you can place the partitioning, and that appeals to the property developer who wants to provide a building that is totally flexible.’ Another critical issue, he says, is the ability of fan
If chilled
beams were superior in every way, they would have completely replaced fan coils in new- build projects by now – Mike Beeton
48 CIBSE Journal July 2010
coils to deal with a wide range of cooling loads: ‘For example, if you had a meeting room and you had a sudden influx of people, a fan coil can respond quickly. It is more responsive and you can get much higher cooling load out.’ According to David Garwood of research body
BSRIA: ‘In recent years the market has seen a growth in the more energy-efficient EC (electronically commutated) fan coils. These, until recently, have commanded a premium of around 20 per cent. ‘However, those companies that have been able to
sell the EC fan coil in sufficient quantities have been able to achieve the economies of scales and so the price difference is now minimal. As EC fan coil sales increased, the cost of the motors has come down.’ Sargent claims that fan coils are set to grow further in
popularity because EC motors and variable air volume are significantly cleaner than they once were. He says: ‘One of the main reasons for using chilled beams
instead of fan coils previously was the carbon emissions argument. Now that this has been neutralised, there is a great swing of opinion towards fan coils.’ TROX UK components product manager Ian
Thomas adds: ‘The most significant issue in the short term is the change of fan coil specific fan power [a function of the volume flow of the fan and the electrical power input] from 0.8 to 0.6W/l/sec under the 2010 version of Part L.’ He argues this will probably lead to more EC motors
being fitted into fan coils: ‘The regulation is not specific about the type of motor you use, provided you get to the specified level of efficiency, but it is far easier to get this with EC than with an AC version. And, with EC motors, you have the opportunity to vary air volumes according to demand.’ Although he admits there is a cost premium on EC
motors over AC versions, Thomas says: ‘With more and more people coming to the market with EC solutions, we now have greater competition [which will have a downward impact on the price]. Besides, the higher capital cost is negated by savings over a two- to three- year period, depending on the price of electricity.’ This means the gap in energy consumption between
fan coil units and chilled beams ‘is the smallest we have ever seen’. Others, however, are less upbeat about fan coil units.
Martin Proctor, product manager – waterborne climate systems at Swegon, says: ‘I think that fan coils still have the edge in terms of market share, but that we are reaching a pivotal point where the already significant move away from fan coil units and towards chilled beams – particularly four-way comfort modules – will see chilled beams take over from fan coil units.’
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www.cibsejournal.com
Advanced Air UK
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