Thomas Edison once said: “There’s a way to do it better – find it.”

Traditional ceiling-based air conditioning units just don’t work properly.  There, we said it.

Many don’t come as a packaged solution – requiring valves, controls, grilles and secondary ductwork from a range of suppliers, leading to high costs and supply chain challenges.  High-performance systems are energy intensive and those that are more efficient struggle to meet required cooling capacities.  Many systems are large, necessitating deep service zones and most just don’t fit seamlessly into their surroundings.  Furthermore, systems are rarely designed with ceiling integration in mind, resulting in installation challenges and unsightly grilles.  Most systems take significant time to commission and require access panels or a fully accessible ceiling for maintenance.  The problems don’t even finish once the units are installed.  Once they’re up and running many systems exhibit poor airflow, leading to draughts, dead spots, high noise and a lack of thermal comfort.

Why do we put up with products that don’t work properly?  After years of designing air conditioning units, we knew there had to be a better way.

Reflecting on more than 30 years of designing air conditioning units and the inherent challenges, Arup engineer Roger Olsen realised there was a need for a new type of heating and cooling system.  In partnership with Airedale International Air Conditioning, Artus™ was born – A hybrid low energy fan coil that combines the flexibility of a fan coil unit with the low energy consumption of a chilled beam.  Addressing current ceiling based AC challenges; it saves energy, saves money and saves space.

Artus™ also delivers perfect, even heating and cooling.  A swirl pattern distributes air in all directions,

providing complete coverage and excellent thermal comfort with low noise.  Artus™ supplies the same cooling load with dramatically lower energy consumption than alternative systems.

Using 60% less specific fan power than a typical fan coil unit (0.10 Watts/litre/sec), it can reduce a building’s overall energy consumption by the equivalent of 3 BREEAM points, resulting in lower operational costs.  Using much less energy than alternative solutions, Artus™ consequently has a

dramatically lower environmental impact.

Artus™ unlocks multiple benefits for architects and interior designers:

• Supports a wide range of interior styles – Artus is one element of a ceiling’s architectural solution. It can either fade into the background, or come forward as a visual element. The Artus™ fascia plate enables discreet integration, whatever the ceiling finish.
• Saves space and is easy to access – At only 200mm deep, Artus™ is perfect for offices, hotels and apartments where space is at a premium. Its compact size makes it ideal for retrofitting older buildings with constrained storey heights which struggle to accommodate conventional systems. Artus™ is “self-access” with no requirements for additional unsightly access panels or a removable ceiling.
• Easy to install – simple ceiling design integration, and easy to configure controls.
• Raising the bar on energy performance – Artus™ uses just 1/3rd of the specific fan power of a typical Fan Coil Unit, complies to Part L building regulations and can contribute up to 3 BREEAM credits in some cases.

Artus™ has already won three prestigious awards, including; EcoBuild and Marks and Spencer’s Big Innovation Pitch (2017), RAC Cooling Awards – Product of the Year (2017), and the CIBSE Yorkshire Manufacturers Award (2017), highlighting its positive reception in the industry.

To discover more about Artus™, please visit www.airedale.com/Artus or call +44 (0) 113 239 1000.