Not your everyday weapon Steve Tredinnick, PE, Vice President of
Energy Services, Syska Hennessy Group for increased cooling
output. Active (aka “ventilated”) chilled beams (ACBs) are the
same as passive but incorporate additional conditioned
ventilation air introduced through high-velocity jets along the
length of the unit. ACBs act as an induction unit (back to the
future from the 1960s) to actively induce room air through the
coil to be cooled. There are many shapes and sizes of both types
of chilled beams, from rectilinear slots to 24-inch squares and
rectangles. There are also varieties of both passive and active
chilled beams that incorporate other elements – e.g,, lights,
sprinklers, speakers, space occupancy sensors and smoke
detectors – in a multi-service beam configuration. These can be
surface-mounted, suspended or recessed in a lay-in ceiling.
Common manufacturers are Frenger, Dadanco, Trox, Krantz, Carrier
(ACB) and Halton. Editor’s Note: “Inside Insights” is a column
designed to address ongoing