Unpacking the advantages of textile air dispersion systems in HVAC. This is Part 2 of a four-part series.
Nico Koegelenberg, managing director of DuctSox, recently shed light on the potential of textile air dispersion systems as a superior alternative to traditional metal ducting and diffusers. His technical talk at SAIRAC Cape Town highlighted significant cost savings, enhanced efficiency and a range of practical benefits that are reshaping how we think about air distribution.
Koegelenberg presented a wide range of applications where textile systems excel:
- Manufacturing and warehousing: Ideal for large, open spaces.
- Pools: “The beauty of pools is it doesn’t corrode, so it’s actually a perfect solution for pool application. You don’t get any flaking.”
- Schools and food processing: Meeting stringent hygiene requirements.
- Retail, gyms and offices: It eliminates hot and cold spots for uniform comfort.
- Aviation, grocery stores, industrial offices, airports, libraries, museums, malls, convention centres: Suitable for diverse environments, including those requiring quiet operation.
- Specialised applications: Underfloor air dispersion, plenum supply and laboratories.
- Agri-side: Growth facilities with under-table, overhead and critical environments like clean rooms.
Textile systems come in various shapes beyond the standard cylindrical, including half-round, quarter-round (for corners), and oval socks. Oval socks are particularly useful for transporting large air volumes through constricted spaces like columns, maintaining headspace before returning to cylindrical dispersion.
Koegelenberg explained the two main types of textiles:
- Non-porous fabric: Air is dispersed solely through engineered ventilation openings, similar to metal ducts.
- Porous fabric: A specific amount of air is dispersed through the sidewall of the textile, in addition to ventilation openings. For laminar flow applications, only porosity can be used for air dispersion. “We blend textile porosities to get the right velocities as required within that space,” he noted.
Specialty fabrics include electrostatic dissipative yarns for environments like battery factories or electronics, preventing static buildup.
Air dispersion methods include low-velocity laminar flow (using porous textiles), linear vents, orifices, grommets and adjustable nozzles for spot cooling. Koegelenberg demonstrated how porous fabric acts like insulated ducting, preventing dust buildup and condensation, ensuring it “never gets dirty and it never condensate”.