Design Solution · HVAC & Energy
Design Solution · Dream about it
Floor-level displacement supply plus perimeter heating/cooling.
Low-velocity supply air introduced at floor level rises as it warms, delivering high air quality and comfort with low fan energy, while perimeter emitters handle fabric losses and gains. Compared against a 4-pipe fan coil scheme it trades plant space for better air quality and lower running energy.
Displacement ventilation delivers low-velocity supply air at floor level, letting heat from occupants and equipment carry it upward through the occupied zone before it is extracted at high level — a thermal stratification pattern that produces measurably better air quality than a well-mixed overhead system and carries lower fan energy through a large part of the year. The approach is established in office, education and cultural buildings and the physics is well understood, but the record here carries no provided evidence and the benefits sit at claimed rather than validated on this specific scheme. The combination with perimeter emitters is the right move: displacement alone cannot handle the thermal loads at the facade, and without the perimeter heating strip, down-draughts from cold glass destroy the comfort the displacement system was supposed to deliver. The trade-offs that matter for a specifier are the floor void depth the supply plenum demands, plant room footprint for the larger air volume, and the design sensitivity to floor obstructions — desking churn and raised-floor routes must be coordinated before these benefits show up. Pursue this where floor-to-ceiling heights allow the void, occupancy density is moderate, and the occupant value on air quality justifies the cost premium.
#displacement ventilation #perimeter heating #IAQ