Chilled Beams
Chilled beams provide an efficient and compact HVAC configuration for large buildings. They use hydronic piping to cool or heat indoor spaces directly, requiring less space than air duct systems while offering improved energy efficiency.
Qualified MEP engineers can determine if a chilled beam system is suitable for your building, delivering a professional design that is compliant with local building codes. Chilled beam systems are energy efficient and silent, which makes them excellent for business applications
Space cooling is achieved when chilled water absorbs heat from indoor spaces during summer, and space heating uses the opposite process during winter. For a given temperature rise, one cubic foot of water can transport over 540 times more heat than one cubic foot of air, and chilled beams result in a much more compact HVAC design than air duct systems.
The hydronic piping used by chilled beam systems is normally installed above suspended ceilings, just like air ducts. However, since suspended ceilings have a limited load bearing capacity, chilled beams are anchored directly to the concrete slab of the upper floor.
How Do Chilled Beams Work?
Both water and air can transport heat, as described above. However, a specified heating or cooling load can be handled by water while using much less space than air.
- Chilled beams achieve space cooling with long piping lines and heat exchangers hanging above the ceiling, instead of conventional air ducts.
- The pipe and heat exchanger assemblies resemble beams, hence their name, but they are HVAC components without a structural function like actual beams.
In spite of their name, chilled beam systems can be designed to deliver both heating and cooling. HVAC engineers achieve this by providing connections to both chillers and boilers, and directing the flow of water according to the required operating mode - heating or cooling. Chilled beams tend to be more effective in cooling mode than in heating mode, but the HVAC design can include supplementary heating systems to compensate this.
Chilled beams should not be confused with chilled ceilings, where the heating and cooling effects are accomplished with large metallic plates in the ceiling. While a chilled beam system relies completely on air movement (convection), a chilled ceiling uses a combination of convection and radiation. Chilled beams are normally more efficient than chilled ceilings, and they require less space.
