CHILLED BEAMS AND FAN COIL UNITS
Making MEPS achievable
While the industry is becoming more aware of the environmental benefits of chilled beams, Andrew Gaskell, chairman of the Chilled Beams and Ceilings Association, discusses some of the additional advantages.
W
e are now a couple of months on from April Fools’ Day, and if that day wasn’t causing concern among landlords and building managers in the weeks leading up to it, other than how to avoid the usual pranks, then they are probably in the wrong business. Those who do pay attention to their responsibilities will of course know that 01 April 2018 saw the implementation of the Minimum Energy Performance Standard (MEPS), which means commercial premises must now achieve a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of ‘E’ before they can be let to new occupiers or renew an existing tenancy. Buildings account for around 40% of the EU’s total energy consumption and 43% of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions. The Government’s target is for the commercial property sector to be achieving a minimum EPC band of C by 2030.
While new builds are likely to be equipped with the latest energy-saving building automation and control functions, older buildings will not have been designed with energy efficiency in mind, and varying methods of upgrades are required to bring them up to standard. When discussions arise as to how a building’s EPC might be improved, familiar methods will of course crop up: switching the lighting system to light emitting diodes (LEDs), implementing building controls, using solar technology and improving the insulation around windows and doors, to name a few. According to a recent report from the Carbon
Trust, Heating, ventilation and air conditioning: saving energy without compromising comfort, HVAC systems account for almost half (49%) of all consumption, with cooling and humidification contributing 3% to the total amount. While this
32 June 2018
may appear a relatively small amount, it should not be dismissed as completely insignificant by landlords.
Modern technology has allowed us to maximise buildings’ effectiveness in serving their primary purpose of providing shelter and warmth to their occupants, as well as making the spaces we live and work in as comfortable as possible. Occupant comfort and energy efficiency do not have to be mutually exclusive, and making improvements, big and small, throughout a building will have a multitude of benefits in both the short and long term, for the landlord and their tenants. The basis behind chilled beam technology can be traced back to the early 1900s, when the first concepts for under-sill induction units were developed. In 1962, the Shell Oil headquarters, London, utilised water from the River Thames to cool down the building (via a secondary heat exchanger in the plant room), resulting in a solution that was revolutionary and extremely efficient. While the rest of Europe quickly capitalised on the benefits of this technology, the UK, until now, has not exactly followed suit. Nowadays, with a range of recent energy-saving legislation and new chilled technologies being developed, both chilled beams and chilled ceilings have captured more interest, and their advantages are not just environmental.
Healthy interest
It has regularly been reported that we spend around 90% of our time indoors, with about one- third of our life spent at work.
The influence that the comfort of the working environment has on a potential employee’s decision to join an organisation should not be
underestimated – especially if they are in the fortunate position of having multiple job offers. From the employer’s perspective, a happy, healthy and committed workforce is a productive one. The choice of HVAC system is therefore playing a more prominent role in workplace design.
Organisations want to attract and retain the best talent, and maintain minimal staff absence through sickness, which can cost businesses billions of pounds a year. High CO2
levels also
have a negative effect on employees’ productivity and increase tiredness.
A problem with HVAC systems that take air from ceiling voids is that ceiling voids collect dust and debris, which lowers air quality. Active chilled beams avoid this problem by only inducing air from the room, and not from the ceiling void. Radiant chilled ceilings and radiant chilled beams can be used with displacement ventilation to achieve better air quality. Cooling is achieved by radiant transfer and the extract air at high level removes contaminants as the warm air rises, while the occupied zone is provided by the cooling displacement ventilation.
Noise levels are also taken into consideration, as employers have a duty of care to ensure their workers are not exposed to excessive noise. Prolonged exposure to noise can lead to gradual hearing loss, and old, noisy air conditioning systems are likely to need varying degrees of maintenance work to reduce their noise levels. Chilled beams and ceilings contain no moving parts and can therefore offer near-silent operation, although the process of delivering fresh air results in the generation of slight noise in active beams.
www.acr-news.com
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