Chilled Beam Design Guide - TROX

Multi-Service Chilled Beams
Multi-service Chilled Beam Designs
Figures 13 and 14 below illustrate passive and active
multi-service beam installations.
Note that the photograph in figure 13 includes a swirl
type diffuser mounted in the floor near the window. This
diffuser supplies conditioned air for the ventilation and
dehumidification of the space. The beams include a
linear bar grille for the room air discharge and are
curved to conform to the curvature of the ceiling. Both
direct and indirect lighting is provided.
Figure 14 illustrates an active beam version where the
facial slots have been relocated such that they are not
visible and are integrated into the top of the beam, discharging
supply air across the surface of the exposed
slab. Again lighting is both direct and indirect in the
case of these beams.
The photographs in these figures do not show a services
corridor that runs perpendicular to the beams toward
the interior of the space. This corridor is approximately
the depth of the beams themselves and houses
the main ductwork, piping and other services that feed
the beams. These corridors may also house the return
air passage in case where the slab is exposed. As a
rule of thumb, about thirty (30) linear feet of beams may
be connected to each run leaving the service corridor.
Most multi-service beams are provided for exposed slab
applications but other versions can be provided to integrate
with acoustical ceiling grids.
The Case for Multi-service Beams
Multi-service chilled beams offer numerous advantages
over conventional service delivery systems, notably:
1. As the services are integrated into the beams in the
factory, quality control can be much better maintained
than with field mounted services. Factory
mounting involves the provision of proper fixtures
to do the work and facilitates difficult piping and
valve connection. This also allows the final piping
to be leak tested after the components are assembled.
2. Factory mounting of the space services reduces
the amount of required trade coordination on the
job site.
3. All of the space services mounted in the common
housing can be easily accessed for final connection
and commissioning as well as future maintenance.
4. The design of the housing involves the project architects
as well as the engineering consultants and
drives early coordination efforts as opposed to last
minute panics.
5. The above advantages can result in significant
reductions in the time required to construct the
building.
The construction time reduction has made multi-service
beams very popular in the Europe, especially the United
Kingdom. Cases where the building construction time
has been reduced by 25 to 30 percent have been well
documented in a number of publications. Construction
schedule reductions of ten to fifteen percent result in
Figure 13: Passive Multi-service Beams
Figure 14: Active Multi-service Beams
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