TABLE OF CONTENTS This chapter provides a concise list of issues to be considered, and decisions to be made, during the design process. For more detailed discussions and background information, the reader is referred to other sections of this guide. The focus is on those areas in which the design of UFAD systems differs from conventional air distribution system design. For further reading and design guidance, see Spoormaker [1990], Sodec and Craig [1991], Houghton [1995], McCarry [1995], Shute [1995], Bauman and Arens [1996], Bauman et al. [1999a], Bauman et al. [2000a], and AEC [2000].
UFAD systems are similar to conventional overhead systems in terms of the types of equipment used at the cooling and heating plants and primary air-handling units (AHU). Key differences arise with UFAD systems in their use of an underfloor air supply plenum, warmer supply air temperatures into the room, delivery of air in the near vicinity of occupants (with or without individual control) and the resulting floor-to-ceiling air flow pattern, and the solutions used for perimeter systems. In order to successfully employ a UFAD system, it is essential that the implications of these differences be considered, starting at an early stage in the design process.
