Trox fan coil units have been selected for a striking new mixed-use development in central London. Incorporating energy efficient motors and featuring customised jet nozzle and grille designs, the fan coil units meet the extremely high performance requirements of the consultant at the same time as achieving the architect’s intentions for the visual impact of the space.
The Central Saint Giles development provides 375,000 square feet of office space, 56 private apartments and 53 affordable homes, in addition to a restaurant and retail units. Situated in the Covent Garden/Bloomsbury area of central London it features an outdoor public piazza and an impressive reception area.
External appearance
When specifying the air handling scheme for the reception there were a number of important priorities. The external appearance of the fan coil units needed to meet the architect’s aesthetic objectives for the space and in addition, the unusual dimensions of the reception area presented specific air distribution challenges. The consultant for the project, Arup, wanted to prove empirically that the air handling equipment would perform exactly as anticipated before moving forward with the installation and ensure that the HVAC systems would meet low carbon requirements and be suitable for integration with a biomass boiler.
Trox was able to meet the demanding specification due to its broad product range, its ability to manufacture customised grilles, its technical expertise, and the facilities at its Thetford site for laboratory testing of equipment.
Trox achieved the architect’s intentions for the visual impact of the space by supplying specially designed linear bar grilles. The architect did not want spacing bars next to the jet nozzles, and wanted all blades to line up. Trox achieved this by machining customised grilles for the project with circular holes into which the jet nozzles fit.
Optimum design
Trox also worked with the consultants during the specification phase to determine the optimum design of jet nozzle to create the required comfort requirements. The company was then able to quantify and prove the performance of the equipment under laboratory conditions at its testing facilities in Thetford.
To meet the low carbon requirements for the project, Trox recommended fan coil units featuring energy efficient EC motors. It also advised the customer on the sizing of the fan coils to ensure that they worked effectively with the higher than average water temperatures in the system resulting from the use of a biomass boiler.
Nick Howard, Key Account Manager of Trox UK, commented: “The technical requirements for the equipment were extremely stringent, and the process for proving each element of performance was painstaking. But our testing facilities are designed specifically to meet this need, and ongoing investment in our manufacturing capabilities has meant that we are ideally positioned to create bespoke designs cost effectively and within sensible lead times.”