Underfloor Air Distribution

               Recently, the greening of construction has seen many changes in the mechanical industry. This is especially noticeable in the area of air distribution. Typical Air distribution systems consist of an air handling unit that drives air into the multiple zones of the building. This is done through duct, which can vary depending o the type of system such as mixing boxes, vavs, electric heat, etc. All the aforementioned systems were typically run in the ceiling space above each zone and air was discharged through diffusers and pulled by registers or grills. The more traditional systems were always less sufficient because they require that the air handler push a large volume of air into the space with enough force or throw to meet the occupants comfort level.  The reason for such a large volume was the occupants, lights and other items in the space that release heat. With the traditional system, air was forced downward to cool ant than the cool air and heat was pulled back through the return grilles and registers.

 

                A recent trend in the mechanical industry in underfloor air distribution. Underfloor air distribution works exactly as it sounds. Air is pushed through a duct system beneath the floor which in most cases is referred to as an air highway. As the air is pushed through the air highway, it is pushed through diffusers in the floor and the air is then pulled from grills and registers in the ceiling. The benefits of the underfloor air distribution, is that it acts just opposite of the traditional systems sited earlier. Underfloor systems blow cool air from beneath the floor which in turn pushes the heat up. This is much more efficient as heat has a tendency to rise. With this type of system the air handling unit is forced to do much less work . Though these systems are fairly new to common commercial buildings, data centers and IT centers have been using this technology for years. Not only is underfloor air distribution known for its efficiency, but also for its flexibility. Since the diffusers travel along and air highway below a raised floor, the diffusers can be moved to accommodate different room configurations. Many offices or multipurpose buildings that change cubical or partition layouts often, can benefit from this flexibility. Underfloor Air Diffusers are designed with adjustable damper controls to accommodate any size zone or room layout.