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Under Floor Air Conditioning
Another important concept, which would contribute a long way in the 21st century
workplace would be of an Under Floor Air Distribution System (UFAD) or Flexible
Space Systems (FSS).
Today every inch of space in modern office environment has a strategic function
to fulfill. Optimising critical space utilisation has thus become a key concern
for architects, designers and building developers.
Addressing these issues, the concept of under floor air distribution is fast
gaining popularity. Under floor air distribution is an approach to provide air
conditioning by making use of a raised access flooring system for air distribution.
Such floors are becoming increasingly common for office areas as they permit
the flexible and orderly installation of power and communication cables and
other services. The raised-access flooring system is supported on vertical supports
approximately 300 to 400 mm above the slab floor.
This under floor void is used as low-pressure supply and return air plenum.
Air from this low-pressure plenum is distributed to the desired location by
fan-assisted terminals fitted with microprocessor-based control thus providing
facility to the occupant to create their own microclimate. There is no ducting
required under the false floor to direct the air since air exists at equal pressure
throughout the plenum. Mr. S. K. Sengupta - Associate Vice President & Country
Head-Air Solutions-Emerson Network Power (India) Pvt. Ltd. says, "In addition
to providing an integrated solution to all building services, an UFAD system
has the unique advantage compared to conventional air conditioning system of
not requiring a false ceiling or space at high level for air ducts."
Since the purpose of UFAD system is to condition the lower occupied portion
of the space, it provides unique opportunities for energy saving and better
indoor air quality. With all building facilities at accessible level, minimum
disruption (and cost) is required for occupants during maintenance. With no
ducting and false ceiling, installation time can be cut down to the extent of
35 percent. Furthermore, construction cost of the building can be cut down to
the extent of 7 percent with height saving of the building to the extent of
15 percent.
To better integrate with the raised floor system, electrical power, telephone,
data cable and other portions of the building's infrastructure are located in
the under floor space. Plug-in electrical boxes, power/data outlet boxes and
terminal units are flush-mounted in the floor panels and can easily be moved
to accommodate reconfiguration of the workspace or floor plan.
UFAD systems were introduced first in 1950s in Europe for rooms with high heat
loads (typically 190 to 950 W/sq.m) such as computer rooms, control centers
and laboratories. The reason for this was simple- under floor air conditioning
provided an air distribution at desired location that would allow for appropriate
cooling of sensitive equipment. Later in the 1970s, offices in South Africa,
Germany, Japan and Europe and recently in USA adopted these systems to cope
with modernization and increasing use of electronics equipment. Adds Sengupta,
"The need to reconfigure modern office layouts very frequently with the
changing needs of the occupants is met with least time, least disruption and
cost compared to conventional overhead ducted system. Today, any modern office
layout looking to optimize space or better manage their critical space should
be actively looking at this option."
A well-designed UFAD system can be applied effectively in new and existing buildings.
It facilitates thermal comfort, ventilation effectiveness, indoor air quality,
individual comfort control, and above all flexibility to adapt to changes in
the office environment. It also provides lower prime cost of the building envelope,
higher integration with other building services, easier and less expensive response
to space modifications and is also highly energy efficient, thus resulting in
lower whole life costs.
The result will be a 21st century workplace that is more economical, comfortable,
elegant, life affirming and pleasant to be in Key advantages of Under Floor
Air-Distribution:
- Creativity
- Flexibility
- Individual control
- Indoor air quality
- Lower whole life costs
(With content from Emerson Network Power India)
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