Chilled beam systems are an alternative to conventional HVAC systems like VAV that use beams suspended from ceilings to cool rooms. Water is circulated through pipes in the beams to absorb heat from the air. As the air around the beam cools, it falls to the floor and is replaced by warmer rising air, creating convection currents. There are passive and active beam types. Passive beams rely on natural convection while active beams integrate supply air nozzles. Chilled beams provide cooling through both radiation and convection with benefits like lower energy use and better indoor air quality compared to conventional systems.

1. CB503
VENTILATION & AIR CONDITIONING 3
TOPIC 4 : CHILLED BEAM SYSTEM
NAZRIZAM BINTI AB. WAHAB
pnnazz@gmail.com
017-612 5556

3. INTRODUCTION OF CHILLED BEAM SYSTEM
1. A chilled beam is a type
of convection HVAC
system designed to heat
or cool large buildings
such as commercial
buildings, schools,
universities, dry labs, and
hospitals.
2. A chilled beam primarily gives off its cooling effect
through convection by using water to remove heat from a
room.

4. 3. Pipes of water are passed through a "beam" (a heat
exchanger) suspended a short distance from the ceiling
of a room.
4. As the beam chills the air around it, the air becomes
denser and falls to the floor.
5. It is replaced by warmer air moving up from below,
causing a constant flow of convection and cooling the
room.

5. WARM AIR
WARM AIR
WARM AIR
COOL AIR
WARM AIR
COOL AIR
COOL AIR
PRINCIPLE OF CHILLED BEAM SYSTEM

6. HISTORY OF CHILLED BEAMS
1. Chilled beams were developed in Norway in 1975.
2. They have been used successfully in Europe for 20
years, where they have become standard practice.
3. Chilled beam technology is emerging in the U.S. as an
alternative to conventional systems such as VAV.
4. US Installations:
 Astra Zeneca – Boston, MA
 Penn State University – Philedelphia, PA
 Harvard University – Boston, MA
 Portland Center Stage – Portland, OR
 Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences – Tahoe,
NV Clemson University – Clemson, SC
 University of Wisconsin – Madison, WI

7. TYPES OF CHILLED BEAM SYSTEM
1. There are two types of chilled beam system:
i. Passive chilled beam system
i. Active chilled beam system

8. 2. Common to each of the system, is a cooling coil which
provides radiant cooling via circulated cool water.
3. Chilled beams can be either recessed in the ceiling or
exposed below the ceiling.
4. Multi-Service Chilled Beams are also available.
Multi service chilled beam system

9. PASSIVE CHILLED BEAM SYSTEM
1. Heat transfer of passive beams occurs mainly by natural
convection with a minor part by radiation.
2. Warm room air in contact with the cooled surface of the heat
exchanger flows downwards through the beam into the
room.
3. Passive chilled beams are not connected to the ventilation
system and can be positioned fully exposed, recessed within a
suspended ceiling or above a perforated ceiling.
4. Supply air can be introduced either from high or low level.

10. 5. Primary air supply arrangements need to be designed carefully
in order not to interfere with the operation of passive chilled
beam.
6. When the primary air is supplied using ceiling diffusers, the air
jet should not obstruct the convective flow of chilled beam.
7. In some cases where this could be exploited is to prevent
downdraught from a beam, the capacity reduction of chilled
beam should be taken into account (e.g. in full scale mock-up

11. PASSIVE CHILLED BEAM

12. PASSIVE CHILLED BEAMS WITH FLOOR
GRILLES

13. PASSIVE CHILLED BEAMS ABOVE PERFORATED
CEILING

14. PASSIVE CHILLED BEAM – DESIGN VALUES

15. ACTIVE CHILLED
BEAM SYSTEM
1. Active beams contain a
supply air plenum making
heat transfer more
effective due to forced
convection.
2. Primary air is supplied
directly into the plenum
where it exits via nozzles
along its length.
3. Air leaving the nozzles
induces room air through
the heat exchanger.

16. 4. The mixture of supply air and induced air is introduced
into the room through the longitudinal slots along both
sides of the beam.
5. With greater heat transfer between the secondary room
air and the heat exchanger active beams are better
suited to spaces with higher loads than static beams.
6. Depending on requirements, available space and beam
positioning, it is possible to supply air in one or two
directions.
7. The active chilled beam operation is based on induction.
8. The induction rate varies between 1:3 and 1:5
depending on the model

17. ACTIVE CHILLED BEAMS

18. ACTIVE CHILLED BEAMS FLUSH MOUNTED

19. ACTIVE CHILLED BEAM – DESIGN VALUES

20. COMPONENTS OF CHILLED BEAM SYSTEM
1. Passive chilled beam system:
• Coil
• Fin-tube-heat exchanger
2. Active chilled beam system:
• Coil
• Fin-tube-heat exchanger
• Nozzle
• Air plenum

21. ADVANTAGES OF USING THE
CHILLED BEAM SYSTEM
1. Simple to design and control.
• Constant volume supply air system
• Easy ASHRAE 62 ventilation calculation
• Less complicated AHU controls
• Less complicated terminal unit controls
• No cooling coil condensate
2. Less supply air.
• 50% - 65% less supply air required
• Smaller ductwork
• Smaller AHU

22. 3. Smaller ductwork.
• Reduces ceiling space
4. Less mechanical space.
• Reduced mechanical room size
• Reduced mechanical shaft size
5. Lower construction cost.
• Reduced floor to floor height lowers exterior wall
cost
• Size of chilled beams installed in ceilings lowers
ceiling system cost
• Reduced mechanical and shaft floor area lowers
floor, roof and wall cost

23. 6. Less maintenance; almost no maintenance required.
• No moving parts
• No filters to maintain
• Most manufacturers units are easily serviced through
the removable room air inlet grille
• Requires minimal cleaning. Typically remains dust
and dirt free.
7. Increased comfort.
• Individual room temperature control is achieved at
minimal additional cost
• System noise is lower due to lower velocity and
pressure drop of the constant volume system and
no VAV boxes
• Better control of space humidity levels
• More uniform space temperature is achieved
• Occupants are less likely to feel cold drafts

24. 8. Improve IAQ.
• Better than ASHRAE 62 ventilation rates
• No contaminant mixing
9. Higher efficiency.
• Up to 30% reduction in energy use
• Reduced fan energy
• Ideal application for energy recovery
• Higher design chilled water temperature
10. LEED points.
• An additional 8 – 10 LEED points can be achieved.

25. DISADVANTAGES OF USING THE CHILLED
BEAM SYSTEM
1. Not well known in our industry.
1. Higher construction cost compared to VAV.
• Chilled beams may cost up to 15% more than
conventional VAV systems and are manufactured
primarily overseas; they can be hard to obtain,
contributing to high costs.
2. Many engineers aren't very familiar with this technology.
3. Dew point concerns, building must have good control of
humidity to prevent condensation on chilled beam
surface.

26. 5. Affects traditional ceiling appearance.
• Chilled beams are larger than
traditional ceiling diffusers. Can
present challenges for lighting coordination.
6. Positioning chilled beams isn't easy.
• There needs to be adequate space between the top
of the passive beam and the bottom of the structure
to make sure warm air can rise, turn, and go past
the heat exchanger's cooling fins. Passive beams
shouldn't be located above work areas due to
drafts. They should also be kept away from copy
machines, printers, etc.—the warm air from these
machines offsets the cool air from the beam.

27. CHILLED BEAM SYSTEM
VS
CONVENTIONAL SYSTEM

30. CHILLED BEAM IN MALAYSIA
Chilled Beams Installed At TROX Malaysia
TROX Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. Headquarter of South East Asia/Pacific
Operations
Main Office and Factory 20 Persiaran Bunga Tanjung 1, Senawang
Land Industrial Park, 70400 Seremban, Negeri
Sembilan, Malaysia. Tel : (+6) 06 - 6788 188 Fax : (+6) 06 - 6788
288 / 388

31. How could chilled beam system
increased comfort level?
• Chilled beams should not be used in low
ceiling height applications where the distance
between the ceiling and the top of the
occupied zone is less than 3 ft (0.9 m).
• When applied in lobbies, atriums or other
areas with high and/or uncontrollable
infiltration rates, provide adequate
condensation prevention strategies.

32. • To maintain high levels of thermal comfort
(velocities within the occupied zone no
greater than 50 fpm or [0.25 m/s]), active
chilled beams were mounted at least 3.5 ft
(1.1 m) above the designated occupied zone
should be sized and located such that their
throw to a terminal velocity of 100 fpm (0.5
m/s) does not exceed half the distance
between them and another beam with an
opposing blow. Active beams mounted 6 ft (2
m)or more above the designated occupied
zone may be located such that their throw to
a terminal velocity of 150 fpm (0.75 m/s) is as
much as half the distance between the beam
and an adjacent beam with an opposing
discharge.

33. • Smaller nozzles result in higher induction
ratios and higher sensible cooling
capacities per cfm (m3 /h) of primary air.
However, the use of smaller nozzles
generally results in higher noise levels and
inlet pressure requirements for a given
primary airflow rate that increases the
number of beams required.
• Designing for space humidity levels lower
than that actually required may result in
significantly higher primary airflow rates.

35. TASBIH KIFARAH
(Maha Suci Engkau Ya Allah dan Segala Puji
BagiMu, aku bersaksi bahawa tiada Tuhan
melainkan Engkau, aku memohon keampunan dan
taubat daripada Engkau)