SAS chilled ceilings and beams for China Shipping

China Shipping and Johnson Stevens Agencies completed the building of its new four storey UK head office, featuring a chilled ceiling system from SAS International.

Located in Felixstowe, on Suffolk's North Sea coast, and designed by Colwyn Foulkes and Partners (CFP), the building incorporates passive chilled beams at the building's perimeter to offset solar gain, while the chilled ceilings system provides cooling throughout the open plan areas and management offices.

"The SAS chilled ceilings provided us with an ideal cooling solution" commented CFP architects.

"In addition to their energy efficiency and sustainable qualities, they have a low maintenance cost over the system's entire lifecycle adding cost-effectiveness to their other attributes".

"By having the perimeter beams separate from the actual ceiling panels, the system is able to offset solar loads that other cooling systems cannot handle due to lack of cooling output." CFP continued: "Another benefit of the systems is its relative simplicity".

"Connecting the chilled ceiling system proved straightforward and it provided a great degree of flexibility when trying to install the system into a constrained building structure".

"Additionally, the metal used by SAS is of a very high standard which provides a high quality finish which is also very aesthetically pleasing".

SAS International's chilled ceilings and beams use water, as opposed to air or refrigerant, as the heat transfer medium.

This type of system helps to reduce energy usage due to the system's comparatively high operating temperature of between 14degC and 17degC, as well as the ability to set up separate cooling zones, ensuring only occupied areas are cooled.

Chilled ceilings and beams can be combined with technologies such as free cooling and ground sourcing to increase their energy efficiency even further.

SAS water based chilled ceilings and beams provide a sustainable alternative to traditional air conditioning systems, particularly important as we seek to reduce energy usage and carbon emissions.

The project's MandE consultants were Charles D Smith and Associates.

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