Optimizing the Architectural Footprint
In high-rise commercial real estate, mechanical room floor space is heavily restricted. Vertical Unitary AHUs are engineered with a tall, narrow aspect ratio, allowing them to be stacked inside tight vertical utility shafts. Air is drawn in horizontally through the lower cooling coils and discharged vertically upward into the floor plenum.
Direct-Drive Plug Fans
To eliminate the maintenance overhead of V-belts in restricted spaces, Vertical AHUs utilize unhoused, direct-drive centrifugal plug fans (plenum fans). These impellers pressurize the entire AHU cabinet, discharging air evenly in 360 degrees. This provides superior acoustical attenuation and highly efficient airflow distribution into the main vertical supply ducts.