Return Air System
Complete Your Fabric Ventilation System
The FabricAir® Return Air System is a taut, rectangular fabric structure designed to extract contaminated, warm, or humid air from occupied spaces through a precisely engineered perforated surface along its entire length.
The return air system balances the supply system by removing warm, humid, or contaminated air from the occupied zone at low velocity, eliminating turbulence and maintaining consistent indoor conditions. FabricAir experts complete system designs that integrate both supply and return air systems in a single coordinated fabric finish.
Benefits
Supply and return are engineered together, with the same nature of materials and a similar visual appearance throughout the space.
Fabric ductwork weighs a fraction of equivalent sheet metal, significantly reducing load on the ceiling.
Fabric avoids the corrosion challenges associated with metal return ductwork in humid, chlorinated and other corrosive environments.
A complete fabric supply and return system installs up to 5× faster than equivalent metal ductwork, while its low weight and compact volume simplify handling and shipping.
One supplier for your room supply and return reduces on-site coordination, labor requirements and the need to manage a separate sheet-metal contractor.
The fabric can be removed and washed when high hygiene standards require thorough cleaning, making the process significantly easier, quicker and cheaper than with metal return systems
Simple Installation. Practical Maintenance
The FabricAir® Return Air System operates at low static pressure, down to -50 Pa, pulling air out of the room gently. The fabric hangs from an integrated frame that keeps its rectangular shape, suspended either with adjustable cables for a quick setup or with threaded rods for a more conventional installation.
Because the frame is lightweight, the whole return system weighs a fraction of an equivalent metal alternative, easing both the load on the ceiling and the handling on site. When a full clean is needed, the fabric simply slides out of the frame, gets washed, and slides back into place.
The Return Air System is available in PU-coated fabrics from the Combi series (Combi 30, 65, 85, and 90). This keeps material choice and specification consistent across the whole system.
Applications
Schools, universities and libraries
Pools
Retrofits
Download the product brochure for a comprehensive overview of the Return Air System
Download the guide for installing with adjustable cables.
Download the guide for installing with threaded rods.
Interested in getting professional advice?
FAQ
Return air is the air pulled back from a space into the HVAC system to be reconditioned. The air inside an occupied room gets naturally stale. In order to maintain optimal conditions, return systems pull air out of the room. Depending on the system design, the return air may be filtered and reconditioned for recirculation, or exhausted and replaced with outdoor air.
The FabricAir® Return Air System works with conventional ventilation systems, operating at low static pressure to draw contaminated, warm or humid air out of occupied spaces through a perforated fabric surface running its full length.
Supply air moves from the HVAC unit into the room. Return air moves from the room back to the HVAC unit. Together, they form a continuous cycle that keeps air moving.
The Return Air System completes your FabricAir installation so that supply and return work as one complete room ventilation system, delivering clean air to the room and drawing warm polluted air out.
The FabricAir® Return Air System can be particularly suitable for projects where structural weight, corrosion resistance, hygiene, installation simplicity, visual integration, or quiet operations are important considerations. Typical applications include swimming pools, schools and retrofit projects.
The air gets drawn from the room through a system operating at negative pressure. From there, it either exhausts outside or returns to the unit for reconditioning.
Return air systems can be finished in fabric or in other traditional materials like rigid metal sheets. Conventional materials like metal can face challenges related to weight, corrosion risk and cleaning difficulties. The FabricAir® Return Air System is finished in fabric, offering a lightweight, corrosion-resistant and easily washable alternative.
Return air systems can be retrofitted, but some historic or structurally limited buildings can have a hard time supporting the weight of metal ducting. When both supply and return are finished in fabric, the total weight added to the ceiling is minimal. Because the Return Air System is fabric on a lightweight integrated frame, it weighs a fraction of an equivalent sheet-metal return alternative. The system is also easily installed without the need for additional construction work. These characteristics make the FabricAir® Return Air System suited for retrofit projects.
Because return systems pull contaminated air from the room, they get naturally dirtier than supply systems. When cleaning is needed, the return air system simply comes down to get laundered. The fabric can be removed from the suspension frame, washed and easily reinstalled, making the process significantly easier, quicker and cheaper than with metal return systems.
