The ARBS Education and Research Foundation was established to support education, training and research in the Australian HVAC industry.

The Foundation is pleased to release the findings on the latest research project to be funded.

Funding was provided to Team Catalyst to research active chilled beam systems and to compare the performance of two chilled water plant configurations.

• Standard using chilled water plant of multiple chiller configurations; and
• High temperature chiller to generate and distribute high temperature chilled water to active chilled beams at zone level.

This groundbreaking research built on the findings of the previous study which compared the VAV underfloor air distribution and passive chilled beam systems from an energy efficiency perspective. (The study can be found on the Foundation website.)

This latest study was undertaken against the background of the most recent changes to the National Construction Code. Accordingly it recognises the fact that heat output from lighting and IT equipment has decreased significantly. The geometry of the building used as the basis of the study reminded unchanged.

Foundation chair Ian Hopkins, said the findings of the report are the first of its kind and therefore make a valuable contribution to the body of knowledge available to designers.

He congratulated Team Catalyst on the study and particularly thanked Foundation director Ashak Nathwani AM for his contribution to the project.

The findings of the research will be valuable to the HVAC industry, Ian Hopkins said. It was carried out by experienced practising engineers who are involved in design, specification and ongoing monitoring of HVAC systems found in energy-efficient buildings.

Importantly the results of the research predict a 16% reduction in system energy consumption between standard and high temperature chilled variations of the modelled active chilled beam HVAC system.

Click here to view the full report