
UPCOMING EVENT
Designing Safe and Energy-Efficient Laboratory Exhaust Systems
Date: 7th August 2020. 7 PM to 8.15 PM IST
The ventilation system is the lifeblood of any laboratory building. It can also be extremely energy intensive if not properly implemented. While the exhaust side of the ventilation system is critical to maintaining a safe and healthy work environment, it can be responsible for up to 30% of the laboratory's total electrical energy consumption. If the exhaust system is not properly designed, unacceptable levels of the exhaust may be re-entrained back into the laboratory, or neighboring building, creating an unhealthy environment. On the other hand, if the system is over designed it can lead to high capital costs and excessive on-going energy consumption.
This workshop will offer new advancements in designing safe and energy-efficient laboratory exhaust systems, including:
-
Best practice design guidelines for exhaust stack and air intake placement;
-
Developing health and odor acceptance criteria to ensure a safe working environment;
-
An overview of the wind climate conditions to be taken into account when designing an exhaust system;
-
Determining the best dispersion model for predicting concentrations at the nearby air intake to be used for specific applications; and
-
Control strategies that can be used, in part or in whole, during the design of a new laboratory or the renovation of an existing laboratory:
-
-
Strategy 1. Variable air volume (VAV) exhaust with single minimum set point (Simple Turndown).
-
Strategy 2. Real-time VAV control with variable minimum set point (Wind Responsive or In-Situ Monitoring).
-
-
These strategies can safely reduce the energy consumption of the exhaust system by about 50 percent compared to a typical constant volume system, which equates to approximately a 15 percent reduction in the laboratory's total electrical energy use.
The workshop will include examples of case studies that demonstrate how these design strategies should be implemented.
Upon completion of this workshop, attendees should be able to:
-
Be familiar with plume dispersion principles, which will aid in understanding the optimum placement of exhaust fans and air intakes to minimize fan energy requirements.
-
Select the appropriate method for evaluating the air quality versus fan energy savings.
-
Identify which exhaust systems can provide the most energy savings and the best return on investment.
-
Evaluate the best VAV exhaust strategy for their application.
Instructor

Brad Cochran has nearly 25 years of experience conducting wind tunnel and numerical modeling studies related to laboratory exhaust design. He is a registered Professional Engineer with the state of Colorado; serves on the ASSE Z9.5 Laboratory Ventilation sub-committee; primary author of Chapter 9 – Exhaust Stack Design in the 2015 ASHRAE Laboratory Design Guide, and is the current vice-chair of the ASHRAE TC-9.10 Laboratory Ventilation Technical Committee. He is also the lead author on the 2011 edition of the Labs21 Best Practice Guide "Modeling Exhaust Dispersion for Specifying Acceptable Exhaust/Intake Design". Brad also served on the AMCA Induced Flow Fan CRP Committee that developed AMCA Standard 260-07, "Laboratory Methods of Testing Induced Flow Fans for Rating."
PAST EVENTS

Airflow Management for Laboratory Facilities (AIA and GBCI approved)
Date: 6 December 2019, 3 PM to 5 PM
Air is the primary carrier of heat, moisture, and contaminants in laboratory facilities. The flow path of supply air plays an important role in determining the air velocities, air temperatures, concentration of contaminants, and path of contaminants in laboratories. Often high airflow rates or air change rates per hour (ACH) for laboratory spaces are specified to cover the risk of chemical exposure. Although high supply airflow rates can reduce the overall concentration of contaminants it may not ensure uniformity of concentrations at a low diluted level. Importantly, locations of high concentration, especially those in the breathing zone of occupants can pose potentially higher exposure risk. This presentation will focus on the importance of HVAC configuration on airflow distribution and flow path of contaminants in laboratories. In addition, this presentation will cover basics of air ventilation for laboratories and flow dynamics of fume hoods.
Instructor

Kishor Khankari, Ph.D., Fellow ASHRAE President, AnSight LLC
Dr. Kishor Khankari, Ph.D. is President at AnSight LLC in Ann Arbor, MI. He provides engineering solutions and insights through Physics based simulations and CFD analysis. Kishor has several years of experience in providing optimized HVAC solutions to a wide variety of applications involving external wind engineering, plume dispersion, smoke exhaust, displacement ventilation, natural ventilation, radiant heating and cooling, and indoor air quality and thermal comfort optimization for office spaces, patient rooms, operating rooms, cleanrooms, justice facilities, data centers, and warehouses. Dr. Khankari has developed a patented technology of a wind band design of exhaust fan assembly systems. He has developed several easy-to-use analytical software tools which are regularly used by design engineers in a variety companies including those in HVAC industry, critical facilities, and automotive industries.
A noted expert in his field, he has a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and has been regularly published in several technical journals and trade magazines. Dr. Khankari has delivered close to 100 DL presentations worldwide on topics related to design and optimization of HVAC systems and made several presentation at various technical conferences and professional meetings.
Dr. Kishor Khankari is a Fellow member of ASHRAE. He is a recipient of ASHRAE Exceptional and Distinguished Service Awards. He is the past President of Detroit ASHRAE Chapter, past Chair of ASHRAE Technical Committee TC9.11 Clean Spaces, and past Chair of Research Administration Committee (RAC). He is currently voting member of ASHRAE Technology Council and Environmental Health Committee. He is also leading a new Multi Task Group (MTG) on Air Change Rates.

Workshop 1: Energy-Efficient Laboratory Ventilation Design Practices and Technologies
Instructor-Gordon Sharp - Chairman of Aircuity, Inc
Date: 3rd October 2019
Who should attend?
-
Facility/ Engineering managers,
-
MEP professionals/ consultants,
-
Project managers,
-
LEED ® accredited professionals,
-
HSE managers,
-
Laboratory users,
-
Design managers
Did you know laboratories typically have five to ten times the energy and carbon footprint of a comparatively sized office building? This is due in part to the significant amount of outside air required in these facilities. Planners and facility managers can decrease a building's energy impact by first reducing and then better managing ventilation practices and technologies. These actions can result in a 30 to 80 percent reduction in heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) energy use. The challenge is accomplishing these goals in a safe and cost-effective way, while still considering the various laboratory building requirements related to fume hoods, thermal loads, and dilution ventilation.
During this workshop, attendees will learn about a progression of different yet complimentary airside technologies and design practices that can be used individually but are best applied collectively, to significantly and safely reduce ventilation-related energy expenses. Facts and figures will help quantify potential energy savings for regional climates and specific case studies will be presented on relevant projects such as Masdar City in Abu Dhabi and projects within the United States.
Some topics and technologies that will be reviewed are:
-
Variable air volume technology for laboratory ventilation and fume hoods
-
Demand-based control of ventilation rates based on a room's environmental quality
-
New fume hood minimum flow standards
-
Hydronic cooling approaches, including chilled beams
-
Various heat recovery approaches
-
Ways to cut project capital costs by reducing the required size of the HVAC system

Workshop 2: From Concept to Commissioning: Key factors for a successful containment laboratory
Instructor-Andrew Bayly - Managing Director, Emec Technology Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Date: 3rd October 2019
Who should attend?
-
Facility/ Engineering managers,
-
MEP professionals/ consultants,
-
Project managers,
-
LEED ® accredited professionals,
-
HSE managers,
-
Laboratory users,
-
Design managers
With increasing antibiotic-resistant microorganisms and new infectious agents appearing, there is an increasing need for cost-effective, efficient and easy to maintain containment facilities for working with risk group 2 and 3 agents.
This workshop takes participants from the initial project planning and scope development through to testing and commissioning and the effective operation of the facility.
The workshop will help participants define what makes the project a success and how to measure the performance of the finished laboratory as well as look at examples of successful and failed projects and to understand the key elements that will help ensure the containment project meets it's desired outcome.
Some topics to be covered are;
-
Project planning - developing a realistic timeline and budgets for a level 3 laboratory
-
How to establish the project goals
-
Comparison of the standards and guidelines and what does this mean for designers and project cost
-
Autoclave specification and selection -how this can make or break a project
-
Some ideas for developing the concept design
-
Construction details for level 3 labs
-
Comparison of procurement strategies
-
Ideas for tender documentation
-
Construction quality - things to look for
-
The testing and Commissioning plan - did we get the desired outcome?