Chilled Beam - Installation and Adoption

Installation and Adoption

The most common active chilled beam design is in the form of a capital letter "T", upside down and suspended from the ceiling. They are generally 1 to 2 feet (0.30 to 0.61 m) wide, and require less than 1 foot (0.30 m) of overhead space. A typical 2-foot (0.61 m) wide chilled beam system generally weighs about 15 pounds (6.8 kg) per 1 foot (0.30 m) length of the beam. Chilled beams are generally installed so that the center of each beam is no more than 3 metres (9.8 ft) from the center of the next beam. Some designers dislike the beams because they do not cover the entire ceiling so ducts, wiring, and other infrastructure can be seen. Some designers have installed one chilled beam system around the building perimeter (where temperature differences can be the greatest) and another in the interior of the building, to better control temperature throughout the structure. Higher system performance may be obtained by increasing the static pressure of the air in the building. The systems generally need little cleaning (vacuuming of dirt and dust from the fins every five years).

As of 2007, chilled beam HVAC systems were used more widely in Australia and Europe than in the United States. In Australia, the system was first used in 30 The Bond, Sydney which was the first building in Australia to achieve the rating of 5 stars ABGR. Chilled beam HVAC systems have been used at London Heathrow Terminal 5 and Constitution Center (the largest private office building in Washington, D.C.). The system has also received prominent use at Harvard Business School, Wellesley College, and the American headquarters of the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.

The multiservice chilled beam is a relatively new form of the chilled beam. Developed in 1996, it incorporates computer and electrical wiring, lighting, motion-detection sensors, and sprinklers into the chilled beam unit. The multiservice chilled beam was first installed at the Barclaycard building in Northampton, England, but has since been used at the headquarters of Lloyd's Register (London), Airbus UK (Bristol), and the Greater London Authority; Riverside House (London); Empress State Building (London); 55 Baker Street (London) and 101 New Cavendish Street (London).