28 Chilled Beams
When practicality meets contemporary architecture
When it comes to combining aesthetic HVAC systems with energy efficiencies, chilled beams provide solutions that allow the design boundaries to be pushed as Rick Edmondson of Waterloo Air Products explains.
WITH INCREASING demands for tighter buildings and reduced emissions, chilled beams are increasingly specified for their energy efficiencies.
Available in three variations, passive, active and integrated/multi service beams, with the latter enabling the integration of sprinklers, cabling and lighting, chilled beams offer a standard and customised solution.
The key advantages of chilled beams are that they contain no motors, fans or filters, condensate pumps or other moving parts that require maintenance.
They are quiet, reduce the need for ceiling voids which in turn reduces building costs, require little space and reduce the need for mechanical refrigeration.
They provide a stable output and deliver good cooling loads, and specifying chilled beams as part of a building’s design also enables a smaller primary air system that will consume less energy to be used. Cultural changes, perceptions and attitudes towards building design, greater awareness of environmental issues in addition to costs are encouraging developers, consultants and specifiers to take a more holistic approach, not just towards a building’s heating and cooling requirements.
The envelope design and orientation are important considerations and have
Library of Birmingham.
opened up new opportunities for beams. In such projects chilled beams can make a substantial contribution to a building’s overall reduction in carbon emissions and help projects achieve the much coveted BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) rating.
Selection
As with any product, correct selection is crucial to achieving the desired result. Selection of chilled beams often goes hand in hand with aesthetic requirements. Understanding air flows and how a space is going to be conditioned needs to be balanced with the architect’s aesthetic requirements.
With more buildings pushing the design boundaries, fully understanding performance levels is crucial.
Pushing design parameters
Waterloo is frequently used to testing the design parameters to accommodate more dynamically engineered and challenging building designs.
Although the core components and configuration of a chilled beam are never compromised; new features such as lighting can be accommodated without compromising performance.
To address modern design requirements, casings can be re-engineered to address
aesthetic requirements, with some installations requiring quite innovative approaches to meet modern design requirements.
In the recently opened Library of Birmingham chilled beams were designed to follow the contours of the room’s perimeter. The 60 passive systems were also supplied with a matt black finish to prevent them being seen either through the lattice style ceiling or through the perforated grilles.
By carefully configuring the casings to direct and control the airflow, they economically provide a comfortable and
ACR News February 2014
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