With well over 10 million sq. feet of commercial building
space using under floor systems, Jackie Blanden, Director
of WM Protek AB, can draw on a vast bank of expertise
in under floor air conditioning.
Under floor air systems have been around for quite
some time; remember raised floors for spaces having
high heat loads in the 1970’s in computer and laboratory
applications.
Despite the widespread use of raised floors and the
advantages of under floor systems in every day commercial
buildings, barriers still exist to widespread adoption
of the technology. Why is there such apathy among building
designers and owners to pass on the flexibility, cost
savings and environmental advantages offered by under
floor systems, to their tenants?
It is not unrealistic for commercial buildings to have
a lifespan of at least 40 years, with construction costs
amounting to 11% of the total life cost over this period.
The balance typically comprises the costs of financing
the development (14%) and, significantly, those of operation
(50%) and reconfiguration (25%).
Jones Lang LaSalle in their Service Charge Analysis
for Offices 2002 report say that the service charge
on an average 10,000/25,000 sq. ft. building works out
at £6.48 per sq. ft. and this is rising. Property management
professionals (ATIS Real Weatheralls, October 2002)
predict that service charges are about to increase by
10% in 2003 because of spiralling energy and maintenance
costs. This is a considerable, mostly off balance sheet,
charge to any company’s annual running costs.
Independent estimates show that under floor systems
can reduce all these costs; the construction costs by
10% which therefore reduces the cost of financing the
project, and the cost of operation and reconfiguration.
By using an under floor system, the cause and effect
is for the building to be more energy efficient and
to lower the service charge to the building tenant.
There can also be tax advantages for property developers.
For example, some project work can be classified as
repair or Plant Machinery Fixture and Fittings, instead
of freehold property. Both headings can be used to
offset against capital gain or running profit before
tax.
Building occupiers are now also far more aware of the
reconfiguration and operational disadvantages imposed
upon them by poorly designed buildings. Increasingly
tenants expect, as the norm, flexible office space able
to cope cost-effectively with office churn and are willing
to pay property developers a premium for such effective
space.
But are designers and developers taking advantage of
the many benefits of an under floor air conditioning
system? Especially when compared to the high lift-cycle
costs of installing ordinary VAV (Variable air volume)
or fan coil air conditioning systems housed in the ceilings.
In comparison, Protek is a constant flow system that
can achieve a cooling performance of between 100 and
250 watts per m2 at low noise levels, below 30 dBA,
with a raised floor in the range of 150mm to 300 mm
which is used for the distribution of clean, conditioned
air, recirculated by decentralised zone units.
Compatible with the fast changing commercial environment,
the Protek System utilises the plenum under a raised
access floor as a duct in itself, while also capable
of accommodating all the building services, such as
the distribution of power, voice and data, with easy
access for installation and constant modification.
Intelligent standalone under floor fan terminal units
(RAG) distribute conditioned air to the workspace with
the building divided into a number of zones depending
on the use and density of occupancy. Since these RAG
units are not restricted by duct or pipe connections,
they are easily interchangeable with floor panels, allowing
easy configuration of the system to accommodate changes
with the minimum of cost and disruption.
Ron Bates, Walter Lilly’s Managing Director, has been
involved with a number of construction refurbishment
projects that have incorporated the Protek system.
He explains that today’s challenging refurbishment
projects are made less demanding if “a cooperative approach
to the procurement process and to achieving the most
straightforward solutions to their building needs is
adopted.” He adds, “A good example has been the services
installations that have been employed on a number of
recent projects, which have been to a high specification,
but have been a delight in their simplicity and flexibility.
We are so impressed with the Protek system, we now offer
it as an alternative solution to all our Design and
Build projects.”
From the property developers’ point of view, putting
the building services in the floor void provides additional
floor space and therefore higher rental yields. Take
for example 20 St Mary Axe, currently under construction
in London, over the forty floors of the building, by
utilising the Protek under floor system, four additional
floors could have been incorporated. While there may
be specific technical design reasons for not using the
floor space at Mary Axe, was it ever really considered!
Office churn is a fact of life that tenants understand.
So is the desire for an individually controlled environment.
Changes to the interior layout, frequently including
the installation or moving of partition walls, have
serious cost implications for building services. By
utilising the floor void for air conditioning not only
does the potential tenant have a significantly more
efficient cooling and heating performance than with
other types of air conditioning, but all other services
are accommodated too!
Remember that Jones Lane LaSalle service charge figure
(see above) of £6.48 per sq. ft and rising on an annual
basis, the Protek approach can reduce that figure to
£3.80 per sq. ft.
