Carrier has collaborated with Barrisol, a company best known for HVAC ceiling innovations, to develop a range of integrated air conditioning solutions that deliver outstanding comfort, enhanced indoor air quality (IAQ), and low-operational costs.
The new advanced ceiling solutions provide a high-quality, stable indoor environment, and the highest levels of aesthetic design and are ideal for any application where precise control of temperature and very low air velocities are required.
It is part of Carrier's Healthy Buildings Program, which provides customers access to proven technologies that contribute to safer and more productive buildings.
The solution features low velocity airflow, draft elimination, and the ability to maintain highly stable temperatures throughout the occupied space.
The Carrier and Barrisol advanced ceiling solution achieves a comfort rating of Class A for both cooling and heating, the highest possible under ISO 7730, the relevant international standard for measuring thermal comfort in buildings.
The Carrierand Barrisolceiling air conditioning system is available in two options.
There is the Barrisol Clim featuringCarrier products which uses a ceiling made from a bio-sourced membrane that is stretched and fixed in position, spanning a room.
Air conditioning is delivered into the ceiling void by a concealed Carrier fan coil unit (FCU), and is gently diffused downward through the gap between the membrane edge and the walls – with such low velocity it is barely noticeable.
The second option is Barrisol Clim featuring Carrierproduct technology. Air is extracted from the conditioned space vertically upwards, along the outer walls via a concealed bulkhead, and back to the FCU. It is then filtered, heated or cooled, mixed with fresh air and returned to the room via the ceiling void.
Installation for contractors is quick and easy, with structural fixtures that can be rapidly removed for servicing.
Juan Jose Francisco Diez, Carrier’s marketing manager for Airside products in Europe, said comfort and well-being are now widely recognised as key factors influencing people's productivity and performance at work and play, not to mention their importance to everyday life and enjoyment.
“Temperature stability, low noise and draught elimination are key to this. The new advanced Barrisol ceiling air conditioning solutions featuring Carrier products deliver exceptional performance in all these areas,” he said.
“We believe they will prove highly attractive as people look to upgrade indoor environments and take IAQ and occupant comfort to the next level."
Components are designed to help buildings achieve the highest levels of environmental performance. For example, ceiling membranes are made from 100 per cent recyclable material that contains a plant-based plasticiser, and weak A+ class in terms of VOCs emissions (volatile organic compounds). Support profiles are made from 80 per cent recycled aluminium.
Ceiling membranes can be printed, opening up possibilities for creative interior design, which is not possible with other types of air conditioning.
In one auditorium, a Barrisol ceiling canvas was printed with a blue sky and a forest canopy, transforming the room and reminding occupants of the outdoors. Thanks to a micro-perforation, Barrisol membranes can also treat the acoustics of spaces by absorbing sound reverberation.
For enhanced IAQ, the Barrisol Pure Climfeaturing Carrieroption uses ultra-violet (UV-C) lamps within the ceiling void to target pathogens as part of a healthy buildings program.
The Barrisol Cloud Clim featuring Carrier product technology version of the system uses modules that are suspended from the ceiling, through which conditioned air is delivered into the room. Air can be fed into ceiling modules via an FCU concealed nearby or located in a plenum.
Barrisol Clim featuring Carrier products uses low-speed air diffusion and thermal radiation from the whole ceiling area to maintain highly stable, comfortable conditions.
The other option - Barrisol Cloud Climfeaturing Carrier products - uses a combination of convection and direct thermal radiation from the suspended panels to maintain required conditions. To further enhance comfort, modular panels automatically adapt airflow direction and velocity according to temperature, minimizing draughts.
A wide range of Carrier FCUs can be selected to suit the application, including the company's recently developed ultra-low-profile Idrofan 42EP, which at just 150mm high, is the slimmest and most compact FCU available.