FAN COIL UNIT GROUP
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Membership of the Fan Coil Unit Group
Membership is open to any company or organization involved in the manufacture and supply of fan coil units.
A list of member companies can be found by clicking the Members List.
Members are also listed in the broader Directory of HEVAC companies.
The aim of the group
To represent and promote the effective use of Chilled Water Fan Coil Units within a buildings environmental system by supplying meaningful and definitive specifications from which engineers can make considered decisions.
- Provide Industry Guides on
– Application of Fan Coils Units
– Installation of Fan Coils Units
– Maintenance of Fan Coils Unit - Act as a partner to Government departments to define any future standards specifications
- Provide Statistics to members of the Group to facilitate focused product development strategies
- The promotion of Fan Coils Units as one of the most effective air conditioning options
The membership can be relied upon to provide impartial guidance.
Current Documents
New – FCU Technical Factsheet 010 – Guidance on “Free issue” components – September 2022
An attempt to clarify between contractor and manufacturer the steps in dealing with a fan coil order with free-issue” items.
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FCU Technical Factsheet 011 – Industry statement: COVID-19 and fan coils – August 2021
There is a significant amount of information available with respect to the operation and use of fan coils and COVID-19. Here is a summary of the latest guidance which, if followed, would allow Fan coils to be used.
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FCU Technical Factsheet 012 – Guidance on FCUs in residential applications - December 2018
Guidance on FCUs in residential applications covers design considerations, commissioning and service and maintenance. This FCU Group factsheet gives current guidance (December 2018).
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FCU Technical Factsheet 013 – Guidance on Electronically commutated (EC) motors – November 2019
EC motors are the most common motor used in FCUs, especially to comply with Approved Document L and BS 8850.
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FCU Technical Factsheet 014 – Guidance on Air Inlet Filters used in Fan Coils – January 2020
BS 779 has been withdrawn and reference to G2 / G3 filters should be changed to reflect this. There is no direct comparison or conversion between BS EN 779 and BS EN ISO 16890 classifications because the measurement, assessment and classification methods are different.
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FCU Technical Factsheet 015 – How viable are Airside Fan Coils in 2022
Guidance on Airside fan coils, general arrangement, how they work, disadvantages. This FCU Group factsheet gives current guidance (Feb 2022).
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Other publications
Acoustic guide
First published in 2009, the revised September 2022 edition of the Fan Coil Unit Group good practice guide to acoustics for fan coils is now available. New content includes Guide NR, vertical fan coils, variable air volume operation and “In duct” v “Radiated” Sound Power Levels. In addition, it contains worked examples of installations and gives advice on system components, the effect they can have, and the associated pitfalls that can occur, especially in relation to small scale projects. (Download)
BS 8850:2020 Fan coil unit performance. Determination of specific fan power.
Test method as referred to in Approved Document L was published on 27 August 2020. Available from BSI Shop.
Why use Fan Coil Units? Guide written in 2020
The FCU Group produced a short leaflet in 2011 and revised it in July 2020 to bring to your attention the many advantages of fan coil unit systems, which are summarised and compared with the attributes of alternative systems. (Download).
Do FCU comply with the new Part L Building Regulations?
Yes they do. Members worked closely with the MHCLG when they developed the new Part L in 2021 and they all supply fan coil units that comply with the regulations. Some end users have had difficulty in understanding the requirements for Specific Fan Power (SFP) under the new Part L. To help, the FCU Group had prepared the following position statements:
FCU position statement on Fan Coil Specific Fan Power (Iss 4)
FCU position statement on Specific Fan Power (Iss 2)
HEVAC position statement on Acoustic Design Principles (Iss 2)
HEVAC position statement on Airflow Commissioning (Iss 2)
HEVAC position statement on Entering Air Temp (Iss 2)
CIBSE TM43 - Fan Coil Units
This Technical Memorandum, which at Ecobuild in March 2011 was described by CIBSE as one of their "Best Sellers", sets out to describe all aspects of fan coil unit technology and provides manufacturers, designers, site personnel and operators a comprehensive guide. Please link to the CIBSE page where you can get this publication. www.cibse.org/knowledge/cibse-tm/tm43-fan-coil-units
Product Data Template for Fan Coils
The BIMHawk Toolkit is an online database and suite of software programs and utilities for creating, managing and integrating Product Data Templates (PDTs) & Product Data Sheets (PDS’s) with other digital systems (eg: native BIM authoring software applications). The toolkit has been developed by NG Bailey in collaboration with CIBSE and the CIBSE BIM Steering Group to enhance the production of PDTs and allow them to be easily integrated within BIM Authoring Applications. A Product Data Template is a collection of Parameters that describe and define a specific Product or Product type. CIBSE PDTs are developed in conjunction with Product Manufacturers, Designers and Specifiers. Each PDT is rigourously peer reveiwed and made available for Public Comment prior to being published. The PDT for Fan Coil Unit (FCU) is on www.bimhawk.co.uk/pdtlist2.php
A Comparative Study of Active Chilled Beam and Fan Coil Unit Energy Consumption
Following a previous study where fan-coil units (FCU) and active chilled beams (ACB) were compared under different operating conditions, the HEVAC Fan Coil Unit Group in FETA commissioned EDSL to compare their relative energy consumption under the same operating conditions. For the results and the report…
There is an article on the study in the Sept 14 CIBSE Journal - link is http://portfolio.cpl.co.uk/CIBSE/201409/special-fan-coil-units-efficiency/ A PDF of the article is available from here, but the above link is better resolution.
Summary of current standards; current but under review; and withdrawn standards
Current
BS EN 1397: 2021 Heat exchangers — Hydronic room fan coil units — Test procedures for establishing the performance
BS EN 16583: 2020 Heat exchangers - Hydronic room fan coils - determination of their sound power level
BS 8850: 2020 Fan coil unit performance - Determination of specific fan power - Test method
Current, but under review
BS 4856-1: 1972 Testing and rating fan coil units, unit heaters and unit coolers Part 1: Thermal and volumetric performance for heating duties: without additional ducting
BS 4856-2: 1975 Testing and rating fan coil units, unit heaters and unit coolers Part 2: Thermal and volumetric performance for cooling duties: without additional ducting
BS 4856-3: 1975 Testing and rating fan coil units, unit heaters and unit coolers Part 3: Thermal and volumetric performance for heating and cooling duties: with additional ducting
BS 4856-4: 1997 Testing and rating fan coil units, unit heaters and unit coolers Part 4: Determination of sound power levels of fan coil units, unit heaters and unit coolers using reverberation rooms
Withdrawn
BS 4856-4: 1978 Testing and rating fan coil units, unit heaters and unit coolers Part 4: Determination of sound power levels of fan coil units, unit heaters and unit coolers using reverberation rooms
BS 4856-5: 1979 Methods for testing and rating fan coil units, unit heaters and unit coolers Part 5: Acoustic performance; without additional ducting
BS EN 1397: 1999 Heat exchangers — Hydronic room fan coil units — Test procedures for establishing the performance
BS EN 1397: 2015 Heat exchangers — Hydronic room fan coil units — Test procedures for establishing the performance
BS EN 16583: 2015 Heat exchangers - Hydronic room fan coils - determination of their sound power level
Links to useful Industry guides
BSRIA BG 29/2021 Pre-Commission Cleaning of Pipework Systems Amended 6th edition
BSRIA BG 2/2010 Commissioning Water Systems
CIBSE Commissioning Code W:2010 Water Distribution Systems
Last updated: 12/10/22
