Lab Design and Construction Best Practices
Many best practices for energy-efficient laboratories attempt to reduce the amount of energy required to condition ventilation air. Fortunately, opportunities to do this arise at each phase of the design and construction process.
Review Case Studies implementing these strategies.
Planning and Programming
During planning and programming, important decisions are made that will have a fundamental impact on the energy efficiency of the laboratory. These are some of the key recommendations for this phase of the design:
- Emphasize life-cycle costs when making energy decisions.
- Establish energy efficiency and the use of renewables as project goals.
- Conduct a codes and standards review.
- Understand the implications of narrow operating ranges.
- Catalogue opportunities for energy efficiency and renewables in non-lab spaces.
- Segregate energy-intensive processes by creating mini-environments.
Designing
During the design phase of a project, criteria established in the planning and programming phase are translated into actual forms. Many decisions are made about elements that have a significant impact on energy consumption, such as adjacencies, building sections, service routes, and building envelope design. These are some key recommendations for this phase:
- Select A/E professionals with experience in sustainable lab design.
- Pursue a whole-building approach.
- Insist on clarity and convenience in mechanical systems distribution.
- Try to isolate office and support spaces from lab modules.
- Plan adjacencies by considering mechanical system requirements.
- Don' t forget about people!
Engineering
In energy-efficient laboratory design, it is critically important for the engineering design team to provide input to the architectural design team from the very outset. If this is not done, opportunities to integrate efficiency measures into the building can be lost as the design progresses. But even after a building is planned and its architectural schematics completed, many important engineering decisions remain. These are some key recommendations for the engineering phase:
- Be sure to right-size equipment.
- Select equipment by considering part-load and variable operating conditions.
- Specify premium high-efficiency equipment.
- Stress low-pressure-drop design.
- Separate low- and high-temperature cooling loops.
- Incorporate energy-monitoring and control systems.
- Carefully consider the number, size, location, and type of fume hoods.
- Take advantage of your unique climate and location.
- Consider using energy recovery systems.
Commissioning, Operating and Maintaining
Even the most carefully designed and built project can fall far short of its performance goals if the building is not properly commissioned, operated, and maintained (CO&M). This means that concerns for CO&M must be incorporated into all phases of the design process. Commissioning a facility begins with a design-intent document that includes an outline of a comprehensive commissioning plan. A realistic description of the capabilities and funding level of building support personnel should be included in the project description. And, with the participation of O&M personnel on the project review team, CO&M concerns should be reviewed during the design and engineering phase of each project. These are some recommendations for CO&M:
- Require whole-building commissioning.
- Benchmark, monitor, and report annually on energy performance.
Powering
Many laboratories are located on large university or corporate campuses. Increasingly, these complexes are investigating the economic viability of on-site electric power generation or load-leveling options such as cogeneration or off-peak thermal energy storage. Both small and large projects can benefit from the application of distributed technologies, such as natural-gas-powered fuel cells. In some climates and utility districts, solar thermal or photovoltaic energy systems are also cost effective. These are some recommendations for powering a laboratory:
- Investigate the use of on-site power generation.
- Consider using on-site renewable energy.
- Purchase green power
**Information provided by the EPA Labs for the 21st Century project**
