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Fan coil units The future is modular
The latest fan coil units are designed to meet the challenges of the future. John Hepper, technical director at Diffusion explains the latest innovations in fan coil design
F
an coil units are one of the most popular types of air conditioning, offering effective comfort cooling, and heating, with low
running and capital costs, they have been 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. In noise- sensitive environments, such as hotels and high-end apartments, this is essential. This is why the latest fan coil units have been designed to meet exacting noise and efficiency requirements. For instance, the new Highline 235 modular fan
coil range boasts exceedingly low sound levels, delivering noise ratings as low as NR25. This ensures its suitability for a wide variety of buildings, particularly residential applications and hotels where quiet operation is critical. Meanwhile, the range’s high efficiency EC motor and fan assemblies provide improved Specific Fan Powers (SFP) as low as 0.14 W/l/s reducing overall building energy consumption.
Modular
The design also enables specifiers ultimate flexibility to build the unit they need for their specific project including a wide range of attenuator and plenum options. The modular fan range design comprises eight
models, including 13 fan combinations, with almost 300,000 configurations ensuring customers can
select the exact fan coil to fit their individual application.
It is simple to replace any parts of the fan coil on site if required as part of ongoing service and maintenance. This is thanks to a full width removeable panel beneath the unit. Modular design is particularly important to buildings with a change of use, since 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).
Design
The Highline 235’s technical team looked at every element of fan coil design and developed
the range with optimum performance, low noise, improved efficiency and ease of serviceability and maintenance in mind. The condensate drip tray and 22mm diameter
drain connection is made from stainless steel for rigidity and longevity, the entire tray can easily be removed on-site for cleaning while the drain connection is located at the lowest position of the condensate drip tray and fitted with a void tray to aid condensate removal and stop debris entering the drain line. Meanwhile, forward curved centrifugal fans
provide the most efficient airflow and acoustic performance. The fan coils are also insulated throughout with class ‘0’fire-rated foam, the thickness of the insulation throughout the unit varies to ensure superior thermal and acoustic performance in fact over 70% of the foam is either 12 or 25mm thick. Another important feature is easy access to
the controls. Often fan coil controls are difficult to access. The fan coils are supplied fitted with a dedicated controls enclosure mounted to the side of the unit for convenience and easy access, this can also be placed away from the unit if desired.
Filters
A key objective for a fan coil unit is to circulate healthy air sustainably. Dirty filters will reduce the air volume handled by the fan coil unit and so adversely affect its performance. The length of time between cleaning or replacing filters depends upon the condition of the air passing through them, but a guide would be quarterly; more frequent servicing may be required in some cases. Fan coil units can be supplied with either ISO
grade media filters or a lifetime wire mesh filter which is supplied as standard. This option provides a robust environmentally conscious solution that can be simply vacuum cleaned in situ after shutting down the fan coil, making maintenance simple. Having easy access to filters is helpful if a filter needs removing or cleaning. The filter/s can be easily removed on-site from either the side of the unit or from beneath the unit. The filters are split into two parts for convenience. The split filters come out of the fan coil in segments which are coupled together, so if there is only access to one side of the fan coil unit both filters can be pulled out on the other side or from beneath the unit. All in all, modular fan coil design offers a long sustainable product life for customers since they are easily serviced and units can be re-configured on-site to suit a building’s new purpose and configuration. This lowers the embodied carbon in the life cycle of a building.
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