During the refurbishment of its customer services centre in Ipswich, EDF Energy installed chilled ceiling panels from SAS International. The refurbishment project included the conversion of a two-storey outbuilding into a call centre, and energy efficient chilled ceilings were specified as the cooling solution throughout both floors.

SAS chilled ceilings use water, as opposed to air or refrigerant, as the heat transfer medium, and cooling is provided mainly via radiation. Energy usage is reduced partly due to the system’s comparatively high operating temperature of between 14°C and 17°C, as well as the ability to set up separate cooling zones, ensuring only occupied areas are cooled. Chilled ceilings can also be used with technologies such as free cooling and ground sourcing.

Lorne Stewart, the project’s M&E contractor, specified SAS chilled ceilings due to their energy efficiency and the building’s low floor to ceiling height. This proved prohibitive for other cooling methods, which require deep ceiling voids to hide unsightly ductwork. SAS chilled ceilings require a minimum ceiling void of 85mm, which allowed the maximum floor to ceiling height to be achieved.

Simon Ayres, Project Manager for Lorne Stewart, commented: "Having investigated the various other systems on the market for cooling the space concerned, we decided upon a chilled ceiling installation complimented by displacement ventilation which provides a fresh air supply to the space. The chilled ceiling system is relatively simple to connect and has a great degree of flexibility when trying to co-ordinate it into constrained building structures. The overall finish of the product is of a very high standard and is also very aesthetically pleasing. This coupled with the good acoustic properties of the tiles made the chilled ceiling system ideal for the application."

Obstructions including trunking casings, which ran from the floor level into the ceiling void, and structural columns were integrated into specially formed chilled ceiling panels, ensuring the maximum cooling output was achieved. The chilled ceiling tiles were also perforated, allowing sound to be absorbed by the acoustic pads in the rear of each panel and provide the required acoustic performance.

Other advantages of SAS chilled ceilings include hinge-down access panels ensuring easy access to the ceiling void and the lack of moving parts in the system, which results in minimal maintenance requirements.

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

Email: enquiries@sasint.co.uk