Energy Efficient Laboratories for the 21st

Century: Five Big Hits

Dale Sartor, P.E.

Group Leader, Applications Team

Building Technologies Department

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Federal Environmental Symposium, June 4, 2008

Lab Energy Intensity

3 to 8 times as energy intensive as office buildings

Typical
Office Building

Total Site Energy Use Intensity BTU/sf-yr

for various laboratories in the Labs21 Benchmarking Database

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 2

Why Sustainability for Labs?

Laboratories are very energy intensive

3 to 8 times as energy intensive as office buildings

Substantial efficiency opportunities

30%-50% savings over standard practice

Triple bottom line

Reduce life cycle costs
Improve workplace quality and safety
Reduce environmental impact

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 3

Labs21 Program

A joint EPA/DOE-FEMP program to improve the

environmental performance of U.S. laboratories
Optimize whole building efficiency on a life-cycle basis
Assure occupant safety
Minimize overall environmental impacts

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 4

Labs21 Program Components

Partnership Program
Draws together lab owners and designers committed to
implementing high performance lab design.
LBNL is a partner

Training Program
Includes annual technical conference, training workshops, and
other peer-to-peer opportunities.

Tool Kit for Sustainable Design

Resources for owners, designers, and operators

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 5

 Labs21 Toolkit

Core information resources

Design Guide
Case Studies
Energy Benchmarking
Best Practice Guides
Technical Bulletins

Design process tools

Env. Performance Criteria
Design Intent Tool
Labs21 Process Manual

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 6

Key Energy Efficiency Strategies for Labs

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 7

Lab Energy Use is Dominated by HVAC

Laboratory Electricity End Use % Ventilation is the largest

Source: Labs21 Database
component of energy
11
consumption in most labs
10 % varies by lab type and
9 location
Facility ID (Anonymous)

6 In some labs, 10-20%

5 savings in ventilation is
4 equivalent to total lighting
3
energy use
2

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Vent Cool elec Light Process

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 8

Major Efficiency Strategies for Laboratories

Ventilation Systems Heating and Cooling

Optimizing ventilation rates Systems
Energy recovery (latent and
Minimize areas requiring high sensible)
ventilation rates
Right-sizing HVAC systems
High performance fume hoods
VAV, low-flow
Systems that minimize or
eliminate reheat
Multi-stack exhaust plenum Multiple cooling loops at
with staged exhaust fans different temperatures.
Low-pressure drop design High part-load heating and
cooling efficiency

Lighting Systems
Daylighting and controls
High-efficiency electrical
lighting systems
Occupancy controls

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 9

Five BIG HITS
1. Scrutinize the air changes:
Optimize ventilation rates
2. Tame the hoods:
Compare exhaust device options
3. Get real with loads:
Right-size HVAC systems
4. Just say no to re-heat:
Minimize simultaneous heating
and cooling
5. Drop the pressure drop: Annual electricity use in Louis Stokes
Laboratory, National Institutes of
Use lower pressure-drop HVAC Health , Bethesda, MD

designs

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 10

#1 Scrutinize the Air Changes

Air change rates have large peak and total cost impact

Dont assume air changes are driven by thermal loads

What do you use as minimum air change rate (ACR)?
Why? Why? Why?

When is ten or more air changes safe and six air

changes (or less) not?

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 11

Scrutinize the Air Changes

Options to consider
cfm/sqft rather than ACR
Panic switch concept
Cascading air from clean to dirty
Setback ACR when lab is unoccupied
Demand controlled ventilation (based on monitoring of hazards and
odors)
Control Banding (one rate doesnt fit all)
Modeling and simulation for optimization

Ventilation effectiveness is more dependent on lab and

HVAC design than air change rates (ACR)

High ACR can have a negative impact on containment

devices

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 12

#2 Tame the Hoods

Fume hood Energy Consumption

=
Sustainable Design for Laboratories 13
Tame the Hoods

1. Reduce the number and

size of hoods
2. Restrict the sash opening
3. Use Two speeds
occupied and un-
occupied
4. Use variable air volume
(VAV)
5. Consider high
performance hoods
6. Say no to Auxiliary Air
hoods

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 14

#3 Drop the Pressure Drop

Up to one half HVAC energy goes to fans

How low can you go?

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 15

Low Pressure Drop Design

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 16

Annual Energy Cost for Cleanroom Recirculation Fans
Annual energy costs - recirculation fans
(Class 5, 20,000ft2)

450,000

400,000

350,000
Annual kWh Cost based on 0.1$/kWh, $

Operating cost range

300,000 for same cleanliness

250,000

200,000

150,000

100,000

50,000

-
ducted HEPA ducted HEPA fan filter fan filter fan filter pres. Pl. pres. Pl. pres. Pl.
Recirculation system type

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 17

Low Pressure-Drop Design Guidelines
Component Standard Good Better
Air handler face velocity 500 400 300
Air Handler 2.5 in. w.g. 1.5 in. w.g. 0.75 in.w.g.
Heat Recovery Device 1.00 in. w.g. 0.60 in. w.g. 0.35 in. w.g.
VAV Control Devices Constant Volume, Flow Measurement Pressure Differential
N/A Devices, 0.60 - 0.30 in. Measurement and
w.g. Control, 0.10 in. w.g.
Zone Temperature 0.5 in. w.g. 0.30 in. w.g. 0.05 in. w.g.
Control Coils
Total Supply and Return 4.0 in. w.g. 2.25 in. w.g. 1.2 in. w.g.
Ductwork
Exhaust Stack 0.7 w.g. full design 0.7 w.g. full design flow 0.75 w.g. averaging
flow through entire through fan and stack half the design flow,
exhaust system, only, VAV System with VAV System with
Constant Volume bypass multiple stacks
Noise Control (Silencers) 1.0 w.g. 0.25 w.g. 0.0 w.g.
Total 9.7 w.g. 6.2 w.g. 3.2 w.g.
Approximate W / CFM 1.8 1.2 0.6

Source: J. Weale, P. Rumsey, D. Sartor, L. E. Lock, Laboratory Low-Pressure Drop Design, ASHRAE
Journal, August 2002.

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 18

Labs21 Benchmarking Tool Vent. W/cfm

standard

good

better

Standard, good, better benchmarks as defined in

How-low Can You go: Low-Pressure Drop Laboratory Design by Dale Sartor and John Weale

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 19

#4 Get Real with Plug Loads

Save capital cost and

operating cost
Measure actual loads in
similar labs
Design for high part-
load efficiency
Modular design approaches

Plug load diversity in

labs increases reheat

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 20

Measured vs. Design UC Davis Case Study

Significant over-sizing not unusual

Measured vs. Design

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

-
3L2A 3L2B 3L2C 3L2D 3L2E 3L2H 3L2L

Des ign Elec W/s f Des ign Heat W/s f Max App. Power (VA/s f) Max Interval Power (W/s f)

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 21

Measured Plug loads in Labs

Sandia PETL Lab

Designed for 6 W/nsf;
Metered data: 1.8 W/nsf (avg.), 2.7 W/nsf (peak)

Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center

Phase 1 designed for 15-30 W/nsf
Phase 2 reduced design to 8 W/nsf based on Phase 1 experience

Pharmacia
Designed for 12 W/nsf
Metered data: 2.7 W/nsf

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 22

Benefits of Right-sizing at LBNL-MFL

$2.5 million first cost savings for right-sizing HVAC

systems
Based on measured data from comparable labs

LEED Silver (expected)

Rightsizing savings
allowed additional green
features with 4% cost
savings over baseline.

The Molecular Foundry

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 23

#5 Just Say No to Reheat

Reheat (simultaneous heating and cooling) causes

major energy use in labs
High-load areas require lower supply air temperature, so reheat
occurs in other spaces
Range of measured W/sf (15min Avg kW) in a university lab building

18

16

14

12

10
8

-
3L2A 3L2B 3L2C 3L2D 3L2E 3L2H 3L2L 3L2M 2L2G 2L2H 3L1N Main T1

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 24

System Alternatives to Minimize Reheat

Dual-duct systems
Ventilation air with
zone coils
Ventilation air with
fan coils
Ventilation air with
radiant cooling
Ventilation air with
inductive cooling coils

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 25

For More Information

Main Labs21 web site:

http://www.labs21century.gov

Contacts:
Dale Sartor, PE
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Phone: 510 486-5988
E-mail: dasartor@lbl.gov

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 26

Supplemental Slides
Labs21 Environmental Performance Criteria
(Beyond LEED)

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 27

Labs21 Environmental Performance Criteria
(EPC)

Rating system specifically for laboratories

Leverages and builds on LEED

Modifications and additions to improve applicability to labs

Developed with over 40 industry volunteers

Used on many lab projects

Specified in UC Regents policy
Used on Molecular Foundry at LBNL

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 28

LEED and EPC

LEED is a USGBC product

EPC is a Labs21 product

No certification

USGBC is developing a LEED Application Guide for

Laboratories (LEED-AGL) LEED for Labs
Based on the EPC

Both tools are useful, but beware of point-chasing

Avoid design by checklist

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 29

LEED and EPC

EPC Credits
30

25

20
New
15 Modified LEED
Sam e as LEED
10

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 30

Labs21 EPC - Sustainable Sites

1. Minimize impact of air effluents

Use mathematical modeling, physical modeling and/or post-construction
testing and certification to prove compliance

Source: Cermak Peterka Petersen

2. Prevent release to sanitary sewer

Prevent releases of hazardous chemicals and other pollutants to sanitary
sewer, using containment and engineering controls

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 31

Labs21 EPC - Water Efficiency

Prerequisite: Avoid one-pass

water for cooling
Credits: Reduce process water
and process wastewater

Strategies:
Use closed loop cooling
Reduce, reuse, recycle.
Flow control turn off when not in
use
Reuse last rinse for first rinse of next
cycle
Treat process wastewater for down-
Nidus Center. Source: Hedrick-Blessing
cycled use in cooling towers, etc.

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 32

Labs21 EPC Indoor Environmental Quality

Prerequisite: Minimum requirements

Meet ANSI Z 9.5

Credits for user health

and safety
1. Optimize indoor airflow
based on CFD or physical modeling.
2. Commission all fume hoods
per ASHRAE 110, with
performance rating of 4.0 AI 0.1
3. Self-identifying and
fail-safe alarm systems

Source: RWDI

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 33

 Sustainability Begins with the Program
Source: EHDD Architecture

Source: Timothy Hursley

Global Ecology Center, Stanford Bren School, UC Santa Barbara
- High heat-load equipment moved to un-cooled - Office and classroom wing separated out
warehouse; Most temperature-sensitive from lab wing to allow for full natural
equipment in separate room, reducing the area ventilation.
with tight temperature control requirement
- LEED Platinum rating
- 41% efficiency savings + 17% program
savings = 58% total savings (vs. CA Title 24)

Sustainable Design for Laboratories 34