AirFixture Underfloor Air Distribution (UFAD)
Improve Indoor Air Quality, Cost Savings, Design Flexibility and Energy Efficiency
What is Underfloor Air Distribution?
Underfloor Air Distribution (UFAD) is an innovative air distribution approach that is growing in popularity amongst commercial architects and mechanical engineers. Because of its improved air quality, cost-effectiveness, design flexibility and energy efficiency, it’s quickly becoming a preferred solution for heating and cooling office buildings — for both new constructions and renovations.
Unlike overhead variable air volume (VAV) systems, underfloor air distribution systems are designed to work with the laws of physics — not against them. In a UFAD system, conditioned air is supplied through floor diffusers instead of ceiling diffusers.
Innovations in UFAD Technology
UFAD emerged as a commercially viable solution in the mid 1990s. Much like the first cellphone ever released, UFAD’s first iteration was a far cry from the advancement we see today.
Initial UFAD solutions were expensive to build, complicated to design and difficult to innovate. Nowadays, UFAD has become the go-to solution for forward-thinking architects and developers looking to increase the value of their spaces. UFAD combined with modern raised floors can reduce floor height to as low as 8″ — making underfloor air an obvious choice.
Here’s what changed:
- Air Distribution
- Perimeter Cooling
- Interior VAV
- Raised Floor Height
OFFICE OF THE FUTURE: 4 STRATEGIES
The Ultimate Combination for a Healthy Office
By combining the below four strategies into one comprehensive approach, the office of the future will be safeguarded and prepared for workers’ return:
- Design for a minimum humidity of 40% RH and a maximum to slow the spread of viruses in spaces and boost occupants’ healthy immune systems.
- Use an ERV to eliminate cross-contamination while saving energy. Increase ventilation, up to 100% outside air.
- Use PCO filtration in conjunction with MERV-13 as a filtration strategy for occupants to feel safe and comfortable to return to the office.
- To eliminate cross-contamination, supply low and return high, using modern underfloor air distribution, which has the added benefit of occupant comfort control.
The below design shows all of these elements implemented in the office of the future:
PRODUCTS
AirFixture Air Tower – Air Handling Unit (AHU)
Save money and square footage with compact air-handling units that deliver up to 20% more efficiency than traditional HVAC units.
AirFixture AHUS:
- Slash building energy costs
- Increase useable square footage when coupled with raised access flooring
- Boost occupancy satisfaction rates with better temperature control
- Meet LEED and WELL IAQ standards with ease
AirFixture Prestige Wireless Diffuser
Prestige is the first fully wireless UFAD variable air volume diffuser of its kind. Prestige diffusers require no external wires or cabling, bypassing the complexity associated with traditional VAV systems, and making installation quicker and simpler than ever before.
Additionally, there’s no need to connect each diffuser to an external power source – because they include their own dedicated integral battery power supplies (rated for 10 years). The result is the simplest, lowest installed-cost, most flexible VAV system in the world.
AirFixture Prestige Wireless Diffuser
Prestige is the first fully wireless UFAD variable air volume diffuser of its kind. Prestige diffusers require no external wires or cabling, bypassing the complexity associated with traditional VAV systems, and making installation quicker and simpler than ever before.
Additionally, there’s no need to connect each diffuser to an external power source – because they include their own dedicated integral battery power supplies (rated for 10 years). The result is the simplest, lowest installed-cost, most flexible VAV system in the world.
AirFixture UFAD Linear Trough Technology
Because traditional wall-mounted heating units are expensive and interruptive to architectural aesthetics, years ago, architects asked AirFixture to develop an in-floor perimeter convective heat solution to get the hot water or electric fin tube perimeter heaters off the wall.
Working with major raised-access-floor manufacturers, we developed the first self-supported packaged linear heating and cooling trough units.
Linear troughs provide high-capacity airflow without restricting under-floor volume and are available as perimeter heating+cooling / heating-only / cooling-only systems. They are silent and require little to none of the maintenance of a fan.
AirFixture Underfloor Air Diffusers
AirFixture offers the most complete line of UFAD diffusers to help you optimize your underfloor air distribution project.
Choose from directionally adjustable, manually adjustable volume or VAV operation in square, round, linear or rectangular configurations. Note that these features can be combined. The most popular diffusers are VAV with directional and volume adjustment.
Floor diffusers are available in a variety of colors, sizes, materials and airflow capacities to meet your project design needs. CV diffusers may include a basic galvanized steel catch pan or a larger acoustical boot. The most popular selection is an aluminum VAV diffuser with manual airflow adjustability. Lower-cost polycarbonate diffusers are also available.
Let’s create a more sustainable world.
Our team partners with engineers, contractors, owners and operators across all commercial and high-rise residential building types. We customize our building efficiency technologies for every job to meet the specific needs of the most demanding structures.
