Application:

Under Floor Air Distribution (UFAD)

 Location
Atlanta, GA (Climate Zone: 3a)

Occupancy
Corporate Office Building
Schedule: 8 am 5 pm

 Advanced
d
d Energy Design Guide
d (AEDG)
Relevant codes:
Standard 90.1-2010
Standard 55-2010
Standard 62.1-2010

 HVAC systems, loads, humidity control,

energy recovery, equipment efficiencies,

ventilation
l
and
d outdoor
d
air, construction, etc.
AEDG does not identify all systems but rather

the most common and least efficient,

therefore UFAD is not addressed.

 Under Floor Air Distribution ((UFAD))

10

 Space Temperature & Pollutant Profile

81F
77F

74F

11

 Pressurized plenum
Common supply plenum
Space between the structural floor and the access floor
Continuous space when possible to allow for

reduced control complexity and redundancy

Sub-plenums used for specific control zones

C
Consider
id heat
h t gain
i tto plenum
l
Floor tile thermal values
plenum (travel time for SA)
Minimize time in p
Insulating structural floor (isolate from floor below)
12

 Pressurized plenum (cont.)

Leakage due to:
Penetrations of pipe, conduit, etc.
Floor seal
Leakage control:
Offset carpet tiles from floor tiles or gasketed stringers
Seal penetrations
Avoid over-pressurizing
Construction
C
i quality
li
13

Fan
BAS

Relief/EA

SP Sensor
OA
AHU
RA

AHU delivers air to a pressurized plenum

AHU with heating and cooling coils
Include an ERV for preconditioning of OA
14

Open Office

High Density

15

 Improved occupant comfort (productivity)

Personal controllability of diffuser
Significant ductwork reduction
Improved cooling ventilation effectiveness
Improved
I
d IAQ
Reduced energy use potential
Flexibility of moving floor diffuser
Simple design
16

 Price associated with access floor

f
Proper construction to minimize leakage

17

 Plenum depth commonly 8 18 in.

Avoid exceeding depth required to fire sprinkle
Limit air travel distance to 5
50 ft
Branch duct work to sub-plenums
Plenum p
pressure: 0.02 0.1 in. wg.
g
Depends on diffuser selection
Regulate with pressure controller

Perimeter heating or auxiliary cooling

Perimeter heating system baseboard or under-floor

te
terminal
a units
u ts
Chilled ceilings
18

Humidity
H idi must be
b controlled
ll d
Delivery
y air temperature
p
is higher
g
than

standard mixed air system 63oF 68oF

Does not mean the CFM is forced to increase
qs = 1.1 CFM T
First glance is that the T is reduced, therefore

the
h CFM would
ld iincrease
Loads to the occupied space are smaller, therefore
qs < a mixed air system
19

20

21

Standard 55-2010

Thermal comfort setpoints:

Space Dry Bulb 68o 75oF
Space
p
Wet Bulb < 68oF
Space Dew Point < 62oF
Air Speed < 30 fpm
Radiant Temp Asymmetry from Wall < 41.4oF

22

 The thermal radiation field imposed on the body is

not uniform
Standing at a campfire: front of body is warm,
warm but back

is cold
Exterior wall or window influence on comfort
Successful UFAD design mitigates asymmetric

temperatures
p

23

 Ventilation air distribution effectiveness

ff
Cooling Ez: 1.0

Minimums may be able to be accomplished

through leakage
leakage, 10% to 15% leakage

24

 No new system components that must be

considered for efficiency or control

25

26

 In presenting a UFAD system in construction

documents, you should highlight the following

points:
Tight construction to avoid leaks
The temperature settings for air delivery
The use of perimeter heating fan coil under the

floor

27

 Two air handling units per floor

1 for the general office space, and
1 for high-density areas such as training rooms and

conference rooms
A single adjustable, movable diffuser per office area (in

general office space)

Perimeter fan coil units with hot water coil
Fan powered boxes for training rooms and conference

rooms
Chilled and hot water are still provided by ground

source heat pumps

28

 Leak-proof
p
construction of the underfloor

plenum
At electrical outlets
At wall and ceiling joints
Around pipes and ducts

Determine the RIGHT height for the raised

floor
Consider size of ductwork, electrical and

communications wiring
Whenever possible: stick to standard heights
29

gp
gp
Ceiling
plenum or no ceiling
plenums
UFAD systems are advertised to significantly

reduce the slab

slab-to-slab
to slab height because a ceiling
plenum is not required; this is not necessarily true
More often than not, an acoustic treatment is

required at the ceiling and a suspended ceiling is

installed
A shallow ceiling plenum can still hide electrical

wires for lights,

g
increase the reflectivityy of the
ceiling and become a return air plenum
30

A commercial
grade air handling equipment
commercial-grade
for UFAD is a standard unit with an additional
mixing box (2 per floor)

31

Make-up air unit (one for

f entire building)
Standard construction
With a heat recovery device
In our example: a heat wheel
In northern climates: a reverse-flow heat recovery
device might be justified

32

Floor diffusers
ff
Simple is better
User friendly
Easy to relocate

33

Perimeter fan coil units

Not a standard fan coil unit
Must
M t be
b designed
d i
d for
f UFAD
Simple connection to a set number of diffusers

along the perimeter (or wherever heat is required)

Other strategies are manufacturer

manufacturer-specific
specific
involving recirculating return air along the
perimeter etc
perimeter,
etc
34

Consider using flexible

ducts (duct socks)
f
instead of sheet metal
Its easy to install, clean and modify
It can be installed after the floor system is in place

and all the electrical and communications/IT

wiring is laid (saves on site installation time)
Small
ll constrictions do
d not affect
ff delivery
d l

35

36

37

Occupied mode
In the general office space, occupants open and

close their diffusers based on their personal

preference; the air handler has to provide more or
less air to satisfy the fluctuating load
Constant temperature
Variable load to satisfy static pressure sensor in
underfloor plenum

38

Occupied mode
In the densely occupied zones, the fan-powered

VAV boxes will modulate on and off to satisfy the

space load
The air handler for densely occupied zones will

operate at:
Constant temperature
Variable load to satisfy static pressure sensor in supply
duct
39

Unoccupied mode
In the general office and the densely occupied

spaces, the air handling units are generally off,

except:
IIn summer, when
h the
th ttemperature
t
iinside
id the
th space
reaches the high limit (say 79oF), then the air handler
(without any outside air) will cool the space.
You may want to give this mode a lower SAT (i.e., not
use the return air mixing box before the fan) to cool and
dehumidify the space faster.
faster
40

Unoccupied mode
In the unoccupied mode, the air handling unit is

generally off, except:

In summer, when the temperature inside the space
reaches the high limit (say 79oF),
F) then the air handler
(without any outside air) will cool the space.
You may want to give this mode a lower SAT (i.e., not
use the return air mixing box before the fan) to cool and
dehumidify the space faster.

41

Perimeter heating
When a perimeter sensor calls for heating, the fan

coil unit (FCU) is energized

energized.
It operates independent of the air handling units.
The heating UFAD fan coil unit does not need the air
handling units to provide air to the FCU
The FCU can draw air from the space through other
diffusers
Most manufacturers offer a special perimeter heating
floor diffuser with a box and dampers connected to the
FCU
42

UFAD designs are relatively new, so we dont

have a lot of historical data they were
popular
l with
h computer rooms, b
but not in
normal occupied spaces.

43

A4
story office in Ottawa,
4-story
Ottawa Canada
60,000 ft2
R35
35 walls,, R60 roof
25% of wall as fenestration (3-glazed, operable windows)

Final design:

Condensing boiler
High-performance
g p
chillers
Heat recovery units
UFAD
Innovative perimeter design
44

Lets discuss
System
As designed
With non-condensing boilers
With standard chillers
No heat recovery
Heat wheel heat recovery
Perimeter UF hot water fan coils
Perimeter UF electric fan coils
Rooftop units, non-UFAD design

Relative LCC cost

over 25 years
$1.00
$1.04
$1.02
$1.35
$1.18
4
$1.04
$1.11
$4.25

This is a specific example results will vary on other projects

45

46

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monitor.

You will receive your Certificate of Attendance when you

complete the evaluation form. Please include Florida, North
Carolina or AIA numbers if applicable.

NOTE: Y
NOTE
You must submit
b i your lilicense numbers
b to K
Kelly
ll
Arnold (karnold@ashrae.org) within 5 days after the course
date to ensure you receive the proper continuing education
credit.

If you have any questions about ASHRAE courses, please

contact Martin
M i Kraft,
K f Managing
M
i Editor,
Edi
at
mkraft@ashrae.org
47

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