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The
Building Technology Platform® provides better
IAQ by delivering conditioned air where it does the
most good – at the floor-level breathing zone,
not above people’s heads. So, the conditioned
air doesn’t mix with odors, particles and pollutants
that collect near the ceiling.
Arquitectonica
Takes a Fresh Approach to New Headquarters
for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Architect
Magazine, November 2007
Charged by
the publisher of the Sarasota
Herald-Tribune, the city's main
news organization, to design a building
that celebrates the region's mid-century
modern heritage, Miami-based Arquitectonica
translated 1950s precedents into state-of-the-art,
21st-century editorial offices and broadcasting
studios....A raised floor throughout the building
houses all of the cabling and power,
plus serves as a pressurized air-filled
cavity for the HVAC system. .... Air
quality is improved because the return
air is located at the ceiling, so rising
air doesn't mix with the supply air.
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Aging
Like A Fine Wine, Eco-Structure,
March 2007  259
KB
Marking
a major milestone in California
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s
Green Building Initiative (www.green.ca.gov),
the California Department of Education Building
has become the first pre-existing, state-owned
U.S. office building to achieve USGBC’s
LEED Platinum rating for Existing Buildings
after already having been certified LEED
Gold for New Construction in 2003....An underfloor
air-distribution system reduces overhead
ductwork and improves airflow delivering
cool air at a higher temperature and lower
velocity cooling to the level around the
workers...In addition to energy savings,
the building's indoor environmental quality
for employees and visitors has been improved
through the use of efficient ventilation
and air distribution. |
| Good
Sense: Underfloor air
distribution is gaining popularity
in today's built environment,
Consulting-Specifying Engineer,
January 2007
While
raised floors are not a new
concept, the move to the
digital environment is making
UFAD an increasingly popular
concept. Unlike data centers
that use raised floors as
high as 3 ft., UFAD raised
floors range from 10 in.
to 18 in. The raised-floor
plenum also is used for power
and data cabling. Buildings
implementing UFAD are gaining
in popularity for a number
of reasons: |
| 1.
Interior comfort in buildings is higher
than buildings with conventional overhead
cooling.
2. Cost for interior reconfigurations
is much lower than non-UFAD buildings.
3. Air devices, as well as power
and data floor boxes, can be easily moved
to accommodate new furniture modifications.
4 . The effectiveness of the ventilation
system is better as the supply air is
introduced at the floor and returned
at the ceiling, more effectively removing
contaminants from the space.
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Variable-Speed
Underfloor Air Terminals Provide Perimeter-Zone
Heating, Cooling, HPAC Engineering, Feb. 2007
Critchfield Mechanical
Inc., a Menlo Park, Calif.-based HVAC engineering
firm, needed a cost-effective and energyefficient
ventilation solution to accommodate changing
heating and cooling demands of the perimeter
zone in the underfloor-air-distribution
system of the Capitol Area East End Complex,
a new office building commissioned for the
State of California's Department of General
Services.
Mark Vranicar, PE, of Critchfield Mechanical
determined that the most cost-effective
way to heat and cool the perimeter areas
would be with energy efficient variable-speed
Series 13 Underfloor Fan Terminals (UFTs).
Occupants of the building have reported they
like having individual control over the
amount of air supplied to their space. Also,
they have reported noticing a drastic improvement
in air quality compared with their previous
building. |
Studies
Relate IAQ and Productivity, Building Operating
Management, November 2006
A growing number of
buildings are being designed to use less
energy, provide better indoor air quality
and focus on the building’s performance as it
relates to the occupant’s experience.
But facility executives whose goal is a high-performance
building that meets these criteria often
face obstacles. One hurdle is the perception
that high-performance facilities come with
a cost premium but produce results limited
only to environmental stewardship. In reality,
just the opposite is often the case. |
Green
& Profitable, betterbricks.com, 2006
Gary Christensen is
the owner of Christensen Corporation, a commercial
development firm located in Boise, Idaho.
He’s also one of a handful of developers
in the Northwest who’s focusing on high
performance, sustainable projects. Gary has
successfully figured out how “green”
can mean both sustainable and profitable.
His high standards—for design, for materials
and for building performance—are well-known
among his colleagues. |
High
Performance Buildings Deliver Increased Better
Learning Environments, www.Seattle.gov, July
2006
They also help teachers
and staff perform better. They can reduce
operating expenses. Look at some interesting
case studies to see how! |
High
Performance Buildings Deliver Increased Comfort,
www.Seattle.gov, July 2006
The June 5, 2000 cover
of Business Week featured an article entitled
IS YOUR OFFICE KILLING YOU? The dangers of
sick buildings, which detailed both the health
and liability risks of unhealthy buildings.
Far too infrequently the media reports multi-million
dollar court judgements for cases resulting
from unhealthy working conditions. Many more
are settled our of court. 95% of complaints
referred to CIGNA are SBS related - about
comfort rather than illness -- 5% of complaints
are building-related illnesses more likely
to generate a valid workers' compensation
claim. |
Design
& Construction Consideration for Underfloor
Air Distribution Systems, www.BetterBricks.com
The rapid evolution
of modern office technology coupled with
high churn or occupant turnover rates has
resulted in an increasing use of underfloor
air distribution systems. In concept, this
provides a flexible, sustainable approach
to handling the requirements of the modern
office environment. Other advantages include
equal or lower first costs, remodeling costs,
improved thermal comfort and indoor air
quality, and potential energy savings of
20% when compared to a conventional overhead
system. |
Case
Study: Ventilation Effectiveness
in UFAD &
Displacement Ventilation;
Technical University of Aachen, Germany,
CBE translation, April 2006 1.3
MB
This case study gives
an analysis and testing of methods to determine
Indoor Air Quality and air-exchange effectiveness
of underfloor air distribution and displacement
ventilation. Authors Andreas Jung and Prof.
Manfred Zeller of the Rheinisch-Westfälische
Technical University of
Aachen, Germany publishes this study in 1994. |
Building
Green Always Made Sense....Now Its Beginning
To Pay Off;
San Francisco Chronicle, September 11, 2005
Employers are beginning
to embrace green buildings because they reduce
absenteeism, Hobstetter said. The costs of
poor indoor air quality -- including higher
absenteeism and increased respiratory ailments,
allergies and asthma -- are generally hidden
in sick days, lower productivity and medical
costs, according to "Green Building Costs
and Financial Benefits," a 2003 report
by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative,
the state's development agency for renewable
energy. Four attributes of green building
design -- increased ventilation, temperature
and lighting control, and increased natural
light -- have been correlated with workforce
productivity gains averaging 7.1 percent,
according to the report. Recent Dutch studies
showed that a healthy indoor climate led
to a 2.5 percent drop in absenteeism. |
Underfloor
Air Distribution & Access Floors,
Energy Design Resources, Design
Brief 297
KB
"Underfloor
air distribution systems, particularly
displacement ventilation systems,
provide a natural advantage over
conventional overhead systems due
to their ability to efficiently
move stale and contaminated air
out of the occupied space." |
Airway
Systems, Joseph Halza, August 2004, Buildings
Magazine, Article
"Underfloor-airway
systems introduce fresh air directly into
the occupants’ breathing zone. Heat,
pollutants, and stale air rise to the ceiling
level, where they are exhausted. Fresh air
replaces the old air rather than diluting
it. The net effect is to improve the ventilation
effectiveness, which improves the air quality.
Figure 4 demonstrates this process." |
William
McDonough, Heidi Schwartz, June 2003, Today's
Facility Manager, Article
"Our use of raised
floors on a large scale is a real serious
idea. We've had thousands of architects come
through our buildings to witness our use
of raised flooring. We're seeing raised flooring
as the standard in Silicon Valley. It allows
us to use nighttime air, so everybody has
fresh air. It's a marvelous thing." |
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