LAB DESIGN SPRING 2010 CONFERENCE

Raleigh, N.C. (Sheraton Raleigh), April 19-21, 2010

Topic: "Laboratory Air Flow Controls – The Past, the Present, the Future"
O’Brien/Atkins Associates, PA, Research Triangle Park, NC (919-941-9000)
G. Edward Richert, PE, LEED AP – erichert@obrienatkins.com

Three primary factors determine chemical laboratory air flow requirements and the associated energy
consumed to meet those requirements. These are fume hood exhaust, equipment heat load, and
ventilation air change rate for dilution. This presentation will review the evolution of air flow control
in the chemical laboratory and discuss the trends in air flow controls that will allow future laboratories
to function with much less energy consumption and therefore with much less operating cost.

The chemical fume hood has long been recognized as a significant consumer of energy in laboratory
buildings. Many strategies to reduce energy consumption by reducing the quantity of fume hoods and
the exhaust flow requirements of fume hoods have been explored over the years.

Since the laboratory chemical fume hood was invented, engineers and scientists have been trying to
improve its performance and reduce its impact on building energy consumption. Throughout the past
five decades there have been two significant surges in the laboratory design industry toward
significant reductions in energy consumption by laboratory buildings. First in the 70’s with the fuel
crisis and then again in the current decade with the drive to energy independence, the goal of reducing
energy consumption in laboratories has led to innovation. Throughout the last five decades, there
have also been steady incremental steps toward the same goal.

In the 30’s fume hoods were fitted with sashes to improve performance and effectively reduce the
open face area and the required exhaust air flow. In the 40’s and 50’s, bypasses were incorporated
into fume hood designs to maintain air balance with sash opening and closing. In the 70’s, it was
recognized that a constant full flow of exhaust from fume hoods consumed an enormous amount of
energy unnecessarily. Throughout the 80’s and 90’s with the advent of direct digital control (DDC)
systems, much work was done to design hoods and HVAC systems that would allow variable air flow
and still assure laboratory containment and temperature control.

Strategies incorporating variable volume supply and exhaust air flow based on hood sash position,
operator occupancy, and time of day schedules are now common place and considered prudent
practice in laboratory HVAC design.

However, with the current trend of laboratory processes becoming smaller, the numbers of fume
hoods and equipment loads in laboratories have seen great reduction thereby pushing ventilation air
change rates to the front of the energy discussion. Ventilation air change rate in laboratories has since
become the subject of much debate as the industry continues to search for ways to improve energy
performance.

Borrowing from the demand controlled ventilation techniques of the recent indoor air quality (IAQ)
initiatives and the past work with safety in motor vehicle ventilation, engineers and scientists are now
developing strategies for controlling laboratory air flow based on the sensed quality of the laboratory
air. While this strategy is fairly straight forward in theory its practical implementation has many
challenges. Notably, a method for economically sensing the laboratory environment has been most
challenging but recent innovation is bringing the industry closer to a solution.

All of these advancements combined with the sophisticated computer control sequences available with
today’s DDC control systems offer the laboratory designer the opportunity to develop systems that
assure the safety of the laboratory environment while minimizing energy consumption.