Even in a very hot climate demanding more vigorous forms of air conditioning, the Spanish have begun to specify chilled beams with leading air distribution system provider TROX already having completed many installations in the country.
In its latest such contract worth £280,000 TROX UK has supplied a range of active and passive chilled beams to the prestigious Ciudad Real library near Madrid in Spain.
The beams cover three floors of the library and comprise around 2,000 linear metres of exposed multi service chilled beams (MSCBs) with lights, PIR and smoke detectors.
The active beams could only be supplied with air at either end so the beams each have their own integral ducts. The longest beams were 4.5m and the total length of each run of beams was an exceptionally long 54m.
The longer the length of the beam the more air that is required to be conveyed down along the ducting. One of the challenges with this long length of duct is to make sure an even distribution of air is achieved. To ensure this a header duct was developed running along the top of the beam and became a “duct within a duct”.
The TROX beams mainly comprised exposed MSCBs with all the services fitted locally on site. Spotlights, lights, smoke detectors and PIRs were sourced in Spain and fitted by the contractor before installation. TROX therefore had to work closely with a series of suppliers in Spain and ensure the effective co-ordination for positioning each component.
Ian Sams, TROX’s business development manager, said: “With this project, TROX have again demonstrated that our MSCBs are exportable. But this is really the tip of the iceberg. The MSCB, which already claims a huge part of the UK market, is now being asked for in mainland Europe. The technology is really taking off there as this project proves.”
