Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/175815
Below the Surface Raised access floors provide a low-maintenance alternative air distribution system by Robin Brunet I n 2003, The Globe and Mail published a feature predicting that one day soon, under- loor air distribution systems made possible by raised access loors would become the norm in Canada. The story pointed out that while only three per cent of new of ice buildings in North America used raised loors in 1995 and only a small fraction involved air distribution, the raised loor percentage grew to eight per cent in 1998 and again to 12 to 15 per cent in 2002. Canadians aren't yet loating on air, at least not to the degree The Globe and Mail envisioned. "We estimate that 25 per cent of of ices use raised loors, but although this isn't a majority percentage, it's de initely solid growth," says Scott Alwine, marketing manager for Tate Access Floors Inc. "Part of the reason is the economy: developers are looking for any opportunity in energy savings and ef iciency, and a properly designed and installed raised loor that facilitates directional air low certainly provides that." A raised access loor creates a void below the loor for services such as electrical power, data, telecom, air conditioning, ire detection and suppression, security, water and drainage. The obvious draw is that it allows quick and easy access to the services for maintenance. Companies such as Camino Modular Systems Inc. have considerable experience in the cable management and HVAC ield, and accordingly Camino has become a leading manufacturer and distributor of access looring, modular wiring and air delivery products. Its loor systems are designed and built to provide the acoustics and feel of slab construction, while offering total accessibility with easily removed lightweight panels. This is an important achievement, considering one of the main challenges of raised loors is to mitigate the noisy 'chamber' acoustic effect occurring in any cavity (plenum) between a solid and secondary surface. ENFloor Canada Inc., established in 2008, is one of the newer players in the industry. But in that short time, it has emerged as a green leader thanks to its allsteel and calcium-sulphate products. ENFloor's EFS-01 series is an all-steel height-adjustable system that provides access to cabling via a channel raceway design. ENFloor's components contain 20 per cent recycled content and are 100 percent recyclable. But the biggest bene it provided by ENFloor is the systems' 35 millimetre to 150 millimetre height adjustable capabilities, which eliminate problems associated with uneven slab conditions and saves valuable ceiling space. Raised Access Floors p.26-27Raised Access Floors.indd 27 COURTESY TATE ACCESS FLOORS INC. Haworth Inc.'s main strength is its diversity. It is to the air stream. "No one in the raised loor industry the only major furniture manufacturer who can pro- in North America has done this before," says Alwine. vide architectural solutions such as loor-to-ceiling "With EcoCore, we're basically adding thermal mass to walls, raised looring, lighting, technology, and furni- a building without physical mass. The technology isn't ture solutions in the form of systems, seating, storage new, it just hasn't been applied in this fashion." This stored energy can be held within the EcoCore and wood case goods. In short, Haworth is a one-stop panel until cold air at night shopping source, which ensures matched makes the phase change mateenvironments, better value and single rial re-solidify and release the accountability for a project. absorbed heat back into the Haworth's TecCrete access loors are space. The micro-encapsulated a unique concrete-and-steel composite phase change materials within that are amazingly quiet and solid underEcoCore panels change from foot. Their durability and full range of solid to liquid at 75.2 degrees static dissipative and conductive inish Fahrenheit. When this occurs, options make them a great choice for data each panel can absorb more centres and equipment rooms, libraries, than 175 BTUs. This means museums and even casinos. The exposed concrete surface is beautiful enough to that in a 100,000-square-foot leave bare but can be inished if desired facility utilizing 2,250 EcoCore with virtually any material: modular carpanels, as much as one and a pet, laminate, vinyl or rubber. half hours of peak solar loadTate has the enviable status of being ing can be shifted to off-peak the largest raised access loor manufac– Scott Alwine, hours. Plus, by embedding the turer in North America (it has supplied marketing manager, material in cement and then over half a billion square feet of looring Tate Access Floors Inc. fully encapsulating it in a steel to the commercial, educational, data cenwelded shell, the material is tre and clean room sectors around the protected from the external world). It's also an authority on under- loor service environment. "Of all our products, EcoCore is getting distribution and data centre air low management. the most attention," says Alwine. Tate's new products for the data centre market include Although he works exclusively with modular carthe Directional Perf perforated directional air low peting, Claude Ouimet, senior vice president and genpanel, which helps direct air low from the plenum to eral manager of Interface Canada and Latin America, the data centre racks where cooling is required. The is also concerned with issues such as the proper low panel delivers air low at an angle (unlike other panels of subsurface air. His company's modular carpet tiles that deliver air low in a vertical plume from the loor), also dampen noise associated with plenum. thus increasing the rate of total air capture and helpInterface's modular carpet tiles are a good choice ing eliminate bypass air, which saves on operating for raised access loors because they are applied using expenses and reduces capital expenditures on cooling proprietary TacTiles connectors instead of being equipment in new facilities. glued to the substrate, creating a loating surface on a From Alwine's perspective, Tate's most exciting raised loor that is resilient, yet provides easy access new offering for of ices is the EcoCore Phase Change to the access loor below. "You can remove, replace and Panel, which incorporates the latest advances in micro- reuse Interface carpet tiles without stretching them or encapsulated phase change materials to reduce indoor damaging the loor below," says Ouimet. "Plus, Interair temperature luctuations and save energy. During face's i2 design platform incorporates the principals the peak load of the day, the phase change material of biomimicry, mimicking the non-directional, organic embedded within the welded steel panel is designed design of nature to produce tiles that vary in patternto melt and absorb energy that would otherwise be ing and colour within a style so individual tiles can be re lected back into the room as heat or transferred replaced without visible disruption or difference." ■ "We estimate that 25 per cent of offices use raised floors, but although this isn't a majority percentage, it's definitely solid growth." OCTOBER 2012 /27 9/11/12 11:42 AM