PERFORMANCE OF ACTIVE CHILLED BEAMS SYSTEM: A CASE STUDY OF AN OFFICE IN THE TROPICS

Abstract

As sustainability gains recognition and popularity in the built environment, demands for Chilled Beams System (CBS) has been steadily increasing across the globe. Tropical regions, however, have seen a slower growth in this industry in relative to temperate regions. Several research studies have tried to address the concerns over its practicability and performance as a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system in the tropics, however, there is still a lack of local studies with Singapore context. Moreover, there are also a lack of data and information pertaining existing buildings equipped with CBS. Hence, this study aims to examine the performance of a building equipped with an operating CBS using a singular case study approach. The three performance indicators, namely energy efficiency, indoor air quality and thermal comfort are evaluated. Various methodologies were used to acquire the data needed for the analysis such as expert walkthrough and site measurements while standards and benchmarks were used to assess the performance. Investigation on an existing system and its performance will illustrate that benefits and constraints of adopting CBS in the tropics. The results obtained from this study is then used to suggest possible opportunities for improvement to the current case study which can be adopted for future application of CBS as well.