Sustainability Incorporated into School Design

Stantec Architecture and the Hanover School Division envisioned a school built to serve as a learning tool for its existing students as well as the growing community. To align with the sustainable design elements, the school incorporates chilled beam products as its primary source of air distribution.

The beams feature the aerodynamic properties of Titus’ ceiling diffusers and benefit from the use of using hydronic coils and induced air, reducing energy consumption associated with removing sensible thermal loads.

After being discharged through nozzles located along the beams, the primary air is supplied to the beam’s mixing chamber. The nozzles inject this air into the mixing chamber at velocities capable of inducing room air through one or two coils and where it mixes with the primary supply air. This air mixture is then discharged through the ceiling slot diffusers into the space, providing high cooling outputs with low amounts of primary air. The reduced volume of air leads to smaller air handlers and ducts, and less energy consumption.

The supplied air from the air handling unit is tempered and dehumidified to handle the latent load.

The remaining loads in the space are addressed via the chilled beam’s heat exchanger. Applications with low latent cooling loads could potentially use 100% outdoor air, allowing for a dedicated outdoor air system with energy recovery that would further reduce total system energy consumption.