How Innovation in Testing and Training is Driving the HVAC Industry Forward

The virtual tour of this state-of-the-art laboratory and interactive learning experience is a must-see.

Technical innovations, such as virtual and augmented reality along with predictive analytics, continue to advance the engineering, architectural and construction industries while simultaneously helping companies improve their quality, safety, efficiency and costs.

At Titus, we have a history of innovation and a goal to continue to advance the science of air distribution. By embracing new technologies and incorporating them into our existing sales, marketing and training, it makes us more capable to interact with these industries and the next generation of industry professionals.

In addition to our product innovations, we invest in a state-of-the-art lab and classroom that we call the Comfort Zone. Spread over 39,500 square feet, our laboratory provides an extensive array of testing and mock-up services that allow guests to truly immerse themselves in all aspects of HVAC design. And you won’t find a traditional training room here; instead we offer an interactive learning experience.

Get behind-the-scenes highlights and take a virtual tour

The facility includes underfloor testing, throw rooms, a critical environment lab, innovation towers, a reverb room, a chilled beam testing chamber and in-situ rooms. I’ll walk you through a few special features and then share a link to a virtual tour of the entire facility.

Underfloor testing

The Underfloor Air Distribution (UFAD) room is a multi-purpose space designed to demonstrate underfloor products, cold wall situations, and serve as an auxiliary throw room for ceiling diffusers. The UFAD room can showcase air patterns created by various models of ceiling diffusers and be used as a mock-up facility to show unique solutions for tricky air distribution problems. During smoke test demonstrations, thermal imaging dramatically shows the difference in the temperature. Underfloor diffusers are floor mounted to simulate actual site installation and test air is precisely delivered to the diffusers at a flow rate of up to 5,000 cfm. Any site requirements for equipment and furnishings can be mocked up to resemble real-world installations for an accurate determination of airflow patterns and temperature mapping. The effect of sills and soffits on air diffusion against an external wall can also be studied.

Throw room

This 80'L x 28'W x 9'H room tests products with increased accuracy, including slot diffusers with long throw, large size displacement ventilation units and chilled beam products. A modular hydronic system enables the testing of chilled beam and water sourced products while units are operating at cooling and/or heating mode. A 20' x 40' radiant heater is installed under the floor for better load control of the room during various performance testing, including isothermal throw tests and isovel air pattern mapping in accordance with ASHRAE Standard 70.

Critical environment lab

In this specialized room, we model laminar flows in a cleanroom or laboratory setting with a cleansing air wash or an isolating air curtain. Physical site conditions are mocked up in the room to determine the effect of equipment placement on airflow patterns, and smoke can be easily introduced into the air stream by remote control. Test air is precisely delivered to a diffuser by a computer-controlled delivery system at a flow of up to 5,000 cfm. Isothermal heated or chilled air can be supplied to any diffuser inside the critical environment room for a 30 degree F temperature differential.

Innovation towers

Within three towers, visitors can interact virtually with Titus products on a tabletop display and experience them firsthand. Product displays include the Spectrum Diffuser, Underfloor, VAV, Energy Solution products, Chilled Beams, Radiant Ceiling Panels and Terminal Units.

Reverb room

Our reverberation room allows pure tone sound testing qualification per AHRI-220-2007. It is acoustically isolated from outside noise and vibration with room-inside-a-room construction and an isolation base. Advanced sound measurement equipment offers precise and highly repeatable testing. With a custom-made modular hydronic system, products with water cooling/heating coils can be tested for sound performance while units are operating in cooling or heating mode.

Chilled beam testing chamber

Our chilled beam testing chamber is one of two test chambers located in the United States. It is used to conduct capacity testing in accordance with ASHRAE Standard 200, as well as research and development testing for our chilled beam product line. It features room-within-a-room construction with a conditioned buffer space that prevents heat transfer into or out of the inner test chamber. Precise instrumentation measures the operation conditions and delivered capacity of the unit under test. During testing, the room temperature is maintained within 1 degree F through the use of load dummies. The energy used to maintain space temperature is measured as a validation of the measured capacity. The chamber also features automated control and data acquisition software which enables incredibly precise test results at an increased pace of testing.

In-situ rooms

Two different sized in-situ rooms are built with a 3' plenum space allocated above the ceiling for terminal unit installations. With commercial carpeting, drywall, mineral board ceiling tiles, light fixtures and t-bar grid ceiling construction, these rooms mimic typical office spaces and are built per Cerami and Hines in-situ room specifications. Advanced sound meters make high-precision noise measurements and are frequently used for radiant and total sound mock-up tests requested by building owners and engineers.

See it for yourself

Ready to start your virtual tour? Let me know which part looks most intriguing to you.

For an innovative solution to meet your unique needs, visit titus-hvac.com.

Looking to the future,

Jenny Abney Sivie, LEED AP BD+C - Director of Advanced Business Development, Titus HVAC

This article as written can be found on LinkedIn's website https://www.linkedin.com/. For information on this topic, please contact Jenny Sivie at jsivie@titus-hvac.com or Titus Communications at communications@titus-hvac.com.