EDUCATIONAL & STUDENT FACI LITIES
Figure 1
whilst providing new energy efficiency and safety capabilities. It is quite common for fume cupboards to have control capability already resident but not currently configured for operation. Contact the manufacturer of the fume cupboard, or a lab air management specialist, to investigate whether additional energy saving features on existing hardware can be brought into operation.
Step 6: Room air management For more significant energy reductions integrate fume cupboard air supply and extraction with the wider air management systems to prevent wastage. Installing a room air management system (such as the TROX EASYLAB system) makes it possible for all input and extract air for the laboratory to be controlled automatically to ensure that the required ventilation strategy and levels of safety are maintained. Supply and extraction of the fume cupboards (or other technical air management devices) is automatically balanced and offset in line with changing requirements, reducing the total supply and extract volumes.
For example, if the fume cupboards are open and extracting air, there is not the same requirement for the room system to carry out this process. By scaling down room exhaust air extraction in line with fume cupboard extraction, the room air management system is able to prevent wastage associated with over-supply of conditioned air, improving energy efficiency significantly (see Figures 1 and 2).
Step 7: Local heat extraction Equipment such as ventilated down flow tables, canopy hoods or fume exhaust ‘snorkels’ can reduce energy consumption by taking away heat at source, reducing loading on the site-wide cooling system.
Step 8: Tackle energy consumption out-of-hours A typical office space would require four air changes per hour. In the laboratory environment, due to the nature of the activities and substances present in the space, the number of air changes is typically set considerably higher to err on the side of caution.
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Figure 2
One energy-saving opportunity is to set the BMS (Building Management System) to reduce air change rates overnight or at the weekend when the laboratories are unoccupied, and the requirement for air changes is therefore lower. Local overrides can be used to ensure that, if personnel should be working out of usual work hours, the air changes can be re-established at times when the BMS has put the building into reduced mode.
Step 9: Check zoning Are you minimising overall energy consumption of the site by matching demand with supply? Look into the settings of different zones to check that the air change rates suit the activities carried out in each space.
Step 10: Optimise occupancy Room air management systems can reduce overheads by giving laboratory facilities greater operational flexibility. This enables multiple scientific disciplines to work side- by-side, reducing expensive under-occupation of the facilities.
www.troxuk.co.uk TOMORROW’S FM | 69
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