Fan coil units
Fan coil units for the future
The latest fan coil units have been designed to be truly energy saving. Not only are they energy efficient, they also have a modular design for longer life and a low embodied carbon footprint which makes them ideal to meet the challenges of the future. Louise McHugh, product manager at Diffusion explains the latest innovations in fan coil design
O
ffering effective comfort cooling and heating with low running and capital costs, fan coil units are one of the most popular types of
air conditioning. A stable specification item for decades, when it comes to selecting a fan coil unit, energy efficiency and low sound levels often top the requirements. However, as we head towards the UK’s 2050 Net Zero target it has become more important than ever before for manufacturers to help specifiers create low carbon buildings by innovating to develop the next generation of fan coil units.
The latest fan coils have therefore been
developed following extensive R&D to provide units that are more energy efficient than ever before. For example, the new Diffusion Highline 235 modular fan coil range has been carefully designed so that it is energy efficient with high efficiency EC motor and fan assemblies that provide improved Specific Fan Powers (SFP) as low as 0.14 W/l/s, reducing overall building energy consumption. But, at the same time it is vital to ensure buildings offer inhabitants a comfortable environment so low noise levels and good thermal comfort are essential too. The latest fan coils therefore boast exceedingly low sound levels, delivering noise ratings as low as NR25. This ensures their suitability for a wide variety of buildings, particularly residential applications and hotels where quiet operation is critical. Meanwhile, effective thermal comfort eliminates
draughts, improves health and wellbeing, reduces absenteeism and increases a building’s rental opportunities. The latest fan coils therefore have heat exchangers designed to achieve optimum heating and cooling using industry predominant hot water and chilled water temperatures, improving thermal comfort for building inhabitants. The heat exchangers deliver optimal product performance whilst reducing energy consumption. But for a fan coil unit to be truly energy saving, high efficiency motors and low SFPs are just the start of the design journey. The latest fan coil design features a more fundamental redesign.
Modular
Previously fan coil design has not changed radically for many years until now... In addition to meeting
10 February 2024
Left: Louise McHugh, product manager, Diffusions
plenum options. To make installation easy discharge plenums are available in rectangular or circular spigots, meanwhile inlet and discharge attenuators are available in lengths to meet the specific application’s acoustic requirements. Specifiers can select exactly the fan coil they require; this helps to avoid energy wastage through over specification as previous ranges had fewer models to select from. Other advantages of modular fan coil units are
specification criteria on market-leading energy efficiency and exceptionally low sound levels, the latest fan-coil innovation is challenging previous designs, offering the first modular, repeatable systems. For example, the new Modular Highline 235 fan coil range design comprises eight modules, including 13 fan combinations with almost 300,000 configurations ensuring customers can select the fan coil to fit their individual application. Modular design offers limitless options, giving customers flexibility to select the exact fan coil for their project avoiding energy wastage. The unit’s core becomes the foundation of a customer’s selection, providing the base for the modular approach. This contains key components including filters, heat exchanger and fans. AC specifiers can then choose from a wide range of attenuator and
that they have been designed to be as compact as possible so they are manufactured from less material, making them more sustainable with lower embodied carbon. The modular design also increases the life of the fan coil as each component can easily be accessed for maintenance, and replaced if necessary.
Modular design is particularly important to buildings with a change of use. Units can be re-configured on-site to suit the building’s new purpose. This is a huge sustainability benefit as it saves purchasing new models and the existing models would traditionally be scrapped (which is both costly and wasteful). Instead, the modular design enables fan coils to be reused, reducing a building’s overall embodied energy. If a space changes from open plan to an office the unit can be easily reconfigured to meet noise regulations by simply adding an attenuator to the modular design.
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