 |
Starting at the Bottom: Raised Access Flooring
by Beth Leibson
When SAP Americas, a German software company, started to contemplate a second building on its 110-acre Newtown, Pennsylvania, regional headquarters site, height constraints were a major issue. “We were limited to 56 feet,” says Brian Barrett, Senior Project Manager, SAP Global Facilities.
The company was also concerned about going LEED Platinum, improving employee satisfaction, and saving money on its $120 million, 200,000 sq.ft. building. But it was really the matter of building height that led it to consider raised access flooring.
The access floor that doesn’t look like one is Haworth’s TecCrete. It features a concrete-and steel composite structure and an exposed concrete surface that’s beautiful enough to leave bare. It’s the strongest, most durable access floor in its class—and the greenest, because it’s manufactured in a Zero Landfill Plant with 58% recycled content. Ideal for under floor air distribution it’s the solid, quiet choice for any environment. As technology and tenants change, underfloor air distribution keeps the building fresh.
|
Essentially, raised access flooring consists of a panel (typically 24 inches square and made of steel-clad particleboard) supported by four pedestals (a gridded metal framework or substructure of adjustable-height supports), one at each corner. The height of the legs/pedestals is dictated by the volume of wires, cables, and other services provided beneath; it is typically at least six inches deep.
Having the air distribution system in the floor reduces the need for deep ceiling ductwork usually necessary with conventional ceiling-based systems. And that means that new building projects using raised access flooring often achieve a 5% to 10% reduction in floor-to-floor heights compared to projects with ceiling-based air distribution, according to the University of California’s Center for the Built Environment.
SAP Americas opted to put all wiring and HVAC underfloor, choosing Tate Access Floors for the job. The results were better than expected. The floor-to-floor height on the original headquarters building is 16 feet, 6 inches—and the new building’s floor-to-floor height measures a mere 14 feet, which amounts to a 20%+ difference.
“Because of the lowered height of the building, we saved substantially on construction costs,” explains SAP’s Barrett. “We saved money on the cost of concrete and steel and on labor.”
Saving money, adding flexibility
But that is not the only advantage that raised access flooring offers.
New buildings installing raised access flooring can save on equipment costs. Specifically, these systems typically require less ductwork (trunk, branch, and discharge), fewer or no suspended ceilings, and shorter cables for voice and data than the traditional ceiling-based HVAC system. In turn, using less equipment also translates into savings in installation (and changeover) time and labor costs. Some projects using Tate’s advanced service distribution solution have reduced installation costs by up to 10% and achieve 15% faster build and completion times.
Maintenance costs, too, are frequently lower because addressing cable or ducting issues under the floor simply involves lifting a panel. It is easy to repair or replace damaged flooring tiles, finishes, or carpet, and to quickly move or add plug-and-play electrical boxes and air diffusers. When facilities are available more quickly, businesses experience less downtime. Which translates to happy customers and dollars saved.
Greening the floor
When installed correctly, says Fawn Sieger-Grimes, president and owner of Access Floor Corp., access flooring can save a company up to 45% in HVAC bills. Proper installation, Sieger-Grimes explains, means using a single open-air pressurized system below the floor, which then runs off the building’s main fan filter unit. This set-up can adequately service up to 50,000 sq.ft., says Sieger-Grimes. Air diffusers situated around the building can let the air rise. “And that,” she adds, “is where you get your energy efficiency.”
Take, for instance, the experience at SAP Americas. Between the raised access flooring and other energy-efficient features (including geothermal wells for heating and ice chillers and evaporation cooling towers), the new building has its predecessor beat. “Both buildings have exteriors that are about 80% glass,” says Barrett, which can increase energy costs. The old building uses approximately 2.5 kilowatts per square foot— the new one uses only 1 kilowatt per square foot.
Better temperature control and IAQ
Another benefit to raised access flooring is that diffusers located throughout the floor give employees individual control over their workspace temperature. “At SAP, about 82% of our space is open office,” says Barrett. Employees appreciate being able to control their environment—as does the facilities team. “We don’t get all those constant phone calls,” jokes Barrett.
In addition to improving temperature control, raised access flooring also enhances indoor air quality (IAQ) by increasing ventilation effectiveness. As the fresh air enters the office area, it replaces existing contaminated air (rather than diluting or mixing it). Then natural convection pushes clean air up, eliminating any allergens, germs, and even smoke and other odors. The contaminated air leaves through the return outlets, where it is collected, filtered, mixed with fresh air, and then re-circulated back into the office space. Voila: improved more breathable air.
“The effects of this air cleaning are amplified with smoking,” says Scott Alwine, marketing manager at Tate Access Floors. Interestingly, casinos, one of the few types of non-residential facilities that still permits smoking, have been increasingly turning to access flooring over the past five years in an effort to improve indoor air quality, adds Alwine. “It works very well there.”
The sound of it
Some facilities managers worry that raised access floors lack acoustic qualities. Indeed, walking across early access floors often produced hollow-sounding footfalls. But today’s access floor tiles are often filled with concrete, eliminating the acoustics problem. “Now the sound you hear from walking has more to do with what you put on top of the flooring than anything else,” says Alwine. “For instance, tile sounds different than thick carpet.”
The Underfloor Service Distribution from Tate Access Floor eliminates inflexible conventional wiring and cabling that makes moves/adds/changes expensive. An access floor with modular ‘plug & play’ power wiring, and cabling components provides complete flexibility. As business needs change, so too can service distribution systems—quickly, easily and cost-effectively. The entire space under the access floor is also used as an air distribution pathway so users can plug modular VAV or passive diffusers in anywhere. When users make changes in the space, simply adjust air direction or unplug and relocate in minutes.
|
While access floors don’t extinguish all sound transmission, they are just as effective as traditional floors. “We did a loan center and they were worried about acoustics,” because of all the confidential information exchanged, says Sieger-Grimes. So the manufacturer brought the potential client into a completed office facility and had them yell near the ceiling and near the floor. “They didn’t hear a thing – voices don’t carry,” adds Sieger-Grimes.
But access floors have given us another acoustic challenge: silence. Traditional ductwork creates a hum of air, which masks other sounds to a certain degree. But with the silence of an access floor, some companies—particularly those with an open office environment—have turned to white noise machines to make sensitive, and even simply disruptive, conversations more private.
Looking to the future
Raised access flooring has been popular in Europe and Asia, where space is at a premium, since the 1970s, and has penetrated an estimated 50% of the Asian office market. In many European markets, access flooring is available in 80% or more of the office buildings.
Comparatively speaking, the United States is a late adopter of raised access flooring. Originally, the technology was restricted to data centers, but has recently expanded to libraries, schools, and office buildings. Some manufacturers—notably Tate Access Flooring—have seen an increase in the percentage of clients (though numbers themselves are low, because of the overall low construction market).
Now, raised access floors are not suitable for every facility. Traditional flooring is probably most appropriate for kitchen and food preparation areas, laboratory space, central storage and loading, fitness centers, dining areas, and child care centers. But in many office buildings, especially with today’s rate of churn and reconfiguration, raised access flooring is a cost- and energy-efficient solution that is making inroads in the American office and government-building market. There’s a good chance, there’s a raised access floor in your facility’s future.
|
