Chilled Beams are a tried and tested technology predominantly used in 'owner occupied' buildings or buildings where the person paying the energy and/or maintenance bills are influential in the HVAC equipment selection / solution. One such sector is 'Healthcare'.

FTF Group® have a great deal of awareness of 'Healthcare' applications, stemming back some 80 years when Frenger Troughton Young pioneered the supply and installation of Frenger heating ceilings to most, if not all, hospitals in the UK.

Active Chilled Beams are a water-driven cooling (and heating if required as a 4-pipe unit) unit which is also powered by forced ventilation, also known as a terminal unit.

The circulation of chilled water through the aluminum finned block coil makes the aluminum fins cold (note: Chilled Beams operate above dew point, hence typically 57°F chilled water flow, thus no condensation tray or condensation pumps and/or drains required, unlike other HVAC equipment) and similarly low-temperature hot water (typically limited to 122°F flow to avoid room stratification) for heating is circulated via separate copper waterways sharing the same aluminum finned block.

Traditional Passive Chilled Beams are water driven cooling units that usually rely on the natural 'Convection' process for heat transfer. The circulation of chilled water through the aluminum finned block coil makes the aluminum fins cold (note: Chilled Beams operate above dew point, hence typically 57°F chilled water flow, thus no condensation tray or condensation pumps and/or drains are required, unlike other HVAC equipment) and when the air in the room becomes in contact with the cold aluminum fins, the density of the air increases (cold air is heavier than warm air) and as such this heavier denser air falls to the floor directly below the fin coil block, thus displacing warmer room air which easily rises as lighter (less dense) up to sides and rear of the cold fin coil block, thus repeating the process of the surrounding air becoming denser as a continuous cycle whilst ever chilled water is circulated through the fin coil block.

Traditional Chilled Ceilings are metal ceiling tiles that have aluminum extruded heat exchange pipe seats bonded to the rear of the tile, into which a serpentine copper coil is inserted/secured and insulted so that all cooling is via the front of the tile facing into the room space which requires cooling. The Chilled Ceiling Tiles can reasonably be of any size and shape and usually flush mounted onto a linear or tartan beam grid.

Radiant Passive Chilled Beams are a 'hybrid' between a traditional Passive Chilled Beam and a Radiant Cooling Chilled Ceiling. Chilled water is circulated through the Radiant Passive Chilled Beam such as FTF Group's 'X-Wing®' unit which consists of a single serpentine sinusoid coil (X-Wing® has no joints in the copper coil to eliminate any risk of leaks) with 4 gilled aluminum fins mechanically joined to each waterway. The fins are equally spaced and run longitudinally to each waterway, thus forming an 'X' cross-sectional profile with a waterway in the center, hence the name 'X-Wing®'.

Chilled Beams should always be designed to operate using a chilled water (CHW) supply temperate of at least 2°F above dew point of the indoor room condition (i.e. operate with a dry coil) such to remove the risk of any condensation. For example, if you take a typical summer room design of 75°F at 50% RH indoor space condition then the dew point would be approximately 55°F so, in this case, the minimum CHW supply would need to be 57°F (over 2°F safety margin). In fact, a condensate drain pan facility (as typically associated with an old 1980's type induction unit) would only introduce significant extra cost to the project due to the additional condensate piping, and the requirement to regularly biocide dose condensate drain pans to prevent harmful bacteria (Legionella) and mold growth, all of which shouldn't be required with Chilled Beams that are designed correctly to operate with a dry coil.

Our standard Chilled Beam products contain no moving parts, fans, motors, etc. Therefore, this helps to reduce product maintenance to normally periodic visual inspections every 4-5* years for a typical commercial office application which can be significantly less than other HVAC units.

Our standard Chilled Beam products contain no moving parts, fans, motors, etc. Therefore, this helps to reduce product maintenance to normally periodic visual inspections every 4-5* years for a typical commercial office application which can be significantly less than other HVAC units.

*The visual inspection period will be dependent on the type of project application (i.e. any health care applications may require more frequent visual inspections/ cleaning requirements).

Multi-Service Chilled Beams (MSCB's) provide all the cooling and heating benefits with the excellent levels of thermal comfort that you get with standard Chilled Beam's, but can also feature; lighting, PIR sensors, smoke detectors, sprinklers or any other building service required, in a single pre-fabricated unit.

Utilising either 'Radiant' Passive or Active Chilled Beam Technology, MSCB's are designed to the bespoke requirements and aesthetics of any building.