Chilled Beams_Feedback_Pros vs. Cons

[jesaire]

Building Engineers/Techs,

I am looking for honest feedback positive or negative on passive or active chilled beam ,I work for a firm where I might be responsible to maintain a new building that may be designed with passive chilled beam.
I completely understand the theory of the passive and active chilled beam , but I am interested in the actual, I would like to hear about the projects that may have not worked properly because of unique situations and how they were solved or just what to make sure I have included if asked.



Respectfully,

Jesaire

[cool_tech]

Hi
Have worked with a number of buildings with chilled beams one building is 40 years old, still working well. some may have a lint filter which will need to be cleaned. make sure thermostat is in the area which is controlling the beam. access to units and water valves is a must. architects like to make their building look good but dont think of maintenance issues. good luck.

[flange]

The buildings I see with chilled beam typically use a large energy recovery type unit for makeup air. these work well, but if there is only one, it becomes a giant hassle to get it running in severe weather. most of the jobs I see use a larger than required amount of makeup air, just so the negineer is covered. This is a good thing, and actually keeps a nice indoor air environment, but obviously cost more to treat it. One word of caution...building controls must work well due to potential issues of condensation. On a loss of power to the building specifically, bringing it back slowly is in order to prevent a rain forest in most cases. backup power for the unit would be nice. redundant fans or fanwall would be nice too, to prevent one fan from making you dead in the water.

[jesaire]

Just wanted to thank you for the replies,
I have a meeting scheduled with the design eng 's in about 2 weeks, I am very cautious of of how important the OSA control will be, meaning it will have to stripped if humidity and also the recovery time if we were to have the bldg on a schedule. they originally talked about a passive system.
As mentioned by Cool Tech, 40 years is not so bad...

Jesaire

[cool_tech]

40 years old finished in 1971 in melbourne aus. using pneumatic controls and these beams had a drip tray underneath in case of any condensation.
I agree with what flange said building controls must work well due to potential issues of condensation.