A Chilled Water Beam is a component of an HVAC system for commercial buildings. A chilled beam uses water to remove heat from a room and are a relatively recent innovation. Chilled beams may be appropriate for spaces that require humidification.
Traditional chilled water systems rely on air handling units to move heat from the room air and transfer it to the water. The chilled air is then blown through duct work to the occupied spaces. Fan coil units move the chilled water closer to the occupied space and require less room above the ceiling. Chilled beams also move the chilled water closer to the occupied space than air handlers and attempt to limit or eliminate the energy required by fans.
There are three types of chilled beam systems. They are chilled ceilings, passive chilled beams, and active chilled beams.
Multiservice chilled beams can also offer some unexpected bonuses, in that they can offer a decreased building construction time.
The use of chilled beam systems has been primarily in the commercial arena (e.g., office space, laboratories, schools, and a few applications in hotels). The residential market is a hard adaptation for chilled beams. This is because of the level of humidity control required. In certain regions, if a window is left open in proximity to a chilled beam, condensation can form on the coil. Some example of chilled beams in operation include London Heathrow Terminal 5 and The Constitution Center, Washington D.C.. According to BSEE, "we can continue to see a rocketing sale of chilled beams long into the future ".
The move away from VAV, variable air volume, systems to chilled beams is a fundamental shift in building construction. This shift is taking place under a perfect storm of pressure coming from rising energy costs, increased legislation pushing green buildings, consumer demand for cost savings, space and LEED construction, and a general focus on concern for the environment.
