Green Building Design, Construction & Operations Standards
Environmental Impacts by Space Type (Wet Labs)
Wet Labs
fume hoods and close the sash when they
are not in use.
Areas of impact
Energy & Atmosphere
Indoor Air Quality
Materials & Resources
Water Conservation
Innovation in Design
For Fume Hood Safety Guidelines:
http://www.sfu.ca/ehs/research/chemsafety/expo
surecontrol/fume_hood_safety.html
Energy and Atmosphere
Intent
Science buildings consume a lot of energy
compared to other campus buildings. Spaces
need air-conditioning and lab equipment such as
fume hoods exhaust a significant amount of heat
energy.
Air-conditioning (HVAC)
While research labs must have air conditioning
for temperature control in the space,
undergraduate and teaching labs do not need to
be cooled, and mechanical systems can be
limited to providing heat and ventilation only.
Energy modeling of the whole building can allow
equipment to be optimized.
Fume Hoods
To ensure safe containment of chemicals in use,
fume hoods are required to maintain high fume
hood face velocity and high air volume. This
results in significant heat loss. With high
performance fume hoods, the design and the
number of fume hoods, the type of fume hoods
and the heat recovery systems all have
significant impact on long term energy use of
science labs. The type of lab may also guide the
choice of fume hood:
 Teaching Labs (undergrad labs) – These labs
are typically not continuously in use by students
so using constant air volume fume hoods in
these labs will allow the sash to be shut off
completely to maximize energy savings. Users
should always turn off constant air volume
(Tip: Identify the fume hoods that must always
be shut off completely by a different paint colour
to differentiate them from VAV fume hoods or
use the fume hood sticker sign).
 Research Labs – In these labs, fume hoods
typically must stay on for environmental safety
reasons. Variable air volume (VAV) low flow
fume hoods are a good choice for this type of
labs as users can pull down the sash to an
almost closed position (or “off”) allowing safe
operation while going to an energy saving mode
(the exhaust fan is throttled back).
 Heat recovery - Provide one heating coil by
adding a heat exchanger. The run-around loop
is very common because of its versatility.
Enhanced Best Practices Commissioning
Commissioning should meet ASHRAE 90.1
2007 (or higher) standards & comply with
Enhanced Commissioning LEED requirements.
Commissioning process activities must be
completed for the following energy-related
system.
• HVAC & Refrigeration system and
associated controls
• Lighting & Thermal DDC systems
• Domestic Hot water systems
• Renewable energy system (if
applicable)
Zero use of CFC / HCFC in refrigerants
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are not permitted in
HVAC & R systems.
Replace or upgrade existing systems to
alternative refrigerants. Where they exist,
monitor existing units to minimize CFC leaks.
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* LEED Canada for New Construction and Major Renovations 2009
* BUILD SMART – Greater Vancouver’s Source for Sustainable Building Solutions
Green Building Design, Construction & Operations Standards
Environmental Impacts by Space Type (Wet Labs)
See Appendix - “Low-emitting Material source by
division”
Optimize Energy Performance with
- Energy modeling
- Energy efficient glazing
- External Louvers and sun shades
- Energy recovery system
- Variable speed exhaust systems
- Occupancy sensors
- Temperature control system
- High-performance fume hoods
- Renewable Energy
 Resilient surfaces are an integral part of the
Wet Laboratory space type design. Use epoxy
paint for lab walls and monolithic, seamless,
chemical-resistant vinyl sheet flooring with
integral coved base and Mylar finish.
Lighting and Controls
• Use high performance compact fluorescents to
optimize energy use. SFU standard fixtures
are
- Fluorescent PL 25x2 (Ledalite PureFX) in TBar ceilings
- Fluorescent PL 28x2 (Ledalite-Pique) in open
ceilings
Dust Control
Research experiments and lab equipment are
sensitive to changes in temperature and
humidity, but they are equally sensitive to dust
and other foreign particulates.
• Consider if a task or ambient lighting design is
needed for the space function. Office lighting
levels can be lower than ambient lab lighting.
• Provide light control systems such as
occupancy sensors or daylight sensors
• Zone lighting controls parallel to exterior walls
to allow sensors to be operated efficiently
• All control systems should be connected to the
DDC system
Indoor Air Quality
Intent
Providing good Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
contributes to the comfort and well-being of the
users in the building and has been linked to
improvements in health and increase in general
productivity.
Day light & View
For laboratories, natural indirect light will
protect the equipment or specific research
environment.
Materials & Resources
Intent
Reduce waste, reduce the use of materials and
resources and encourage the use of products
with high recycled content.
Storage of recyclables
Designate an area for recyclable collection and
storage that is appropriately sized and located in
a convenient area. Contact SFU Facilities
Services for detailed requirements.
Construction Waste Management
Specify as part of the General Conditions in all
project specifications that the contractor must
meet specific construction waste management
goals (e.g. 75% diversion of demolition to be
sorted and recycled).
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Monitoring
This is recommended and can be easily installed
at a low cost.
Recycled Content
Choose high post-consumer recycled content
materials & increase the use of products that are
manufactured within the region.
Low-emitting Materials
Reduce the quantity of indoor air contaminants
that are odorous, potentially irritating and /or
harmful to the comfort and well-being of
installers and occupants.
Reduce the use and depletion of finite raw
materials and long-cycle renewable materials.
2
* LEED Canada for New Construction and Major Renovations 2009
* BUILD SMART – Greater Vancouver’s Source for Sustainable Building Solutions
Green Building Design, Construction & Operations Standards
Environmental Impacts by Space Type (Wet Labs)
Go to the Metro Vancouver Green Guide
Product to get further material resources.
Certified Wood
Require lab casework and furnishings to use a
minimum 50 % wood-based materials and
products (FSC certified wood is required by
LEED).
Water Conservation
Intent
Minimize the water consumption in cooling
equipment with chilled water, safety showers
and eyewashes, as well as general use needs in
the labs.
• Low –flow faucets [1.0 gpm] with infrared
sensors can help to reduce the water usage.
 Single pass cooling equipment water use can
be reduced by
- specifying multi-pass, closed loop, or aircooled equipment options (note that some
equipment types may not function properly if
other than single-pass is specified, be sure to
check with equipment manufacturer first) to
arrive at the most water- and energy-efficient
cooling system
- Specify an automatic shut-off valve to the
cooling system to eliminate usage when
equipment is not running (to be used only on
equipment where indoor air quality is not a
concern)
- Provide alternative uses for single-pass
effluent such as use in landscaping, boiler or
cooling tower make-up water, toilet flushing, etc.
(Reuse should ensure that effluent does not
contain any waste stream such grease or
chemical agents).
Innovation in Design
other changes, and permit a variety of uses that
contain individually controlled connections to
HVAC, utilities and safety devices.
Modular design defined spatially by floor-toceiling structural slab with under-floor plenum
divider.
 Begin the commissioning process early during
the design process and execute additional
activities after systems performance verification
is completed.
Case Studies of Wet Labs
• TASC 1 & 2
• Blusson Hall & Saywell Hall
References and Resources
• Whole Building Design Guide www.wbdg.org
• Canadian Green Building Council
http://www.cagbc.org
Green Labeling and Certifications:
 Adhesives – South Coast Air Quality
Management District Rule #1168
• Sealants – Bay Area Air Resources Board
Reg. 8, Rule 51
• Paints and coatings – Green Seal GS 11 &
GC-03
• Carpet – Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI)
Green Label Plus
 Hard surface flooring - Floor Score
Wood – Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
Contributions by: Wendy Lee, Sook Suh
Last updated: 24 November 2011
• Maximize flexibility so uses can expand easily,
and readily accommodate reconfigurations and
3
* LEED Canada for New Construction and Major Renovations 2009
* BUILD SMART – Greater Vancouver’s Source for Sustainable Building Solutions
Green Building Design, Construction & Operations Standards
Environmental Impacts by Space Type (Wet Labs)
Glossary
 Single-pass equipment
Cooling equipment circulates water one time
through a piece of equipment to cool it, and then
the water is discharged (often to the sewer).
This cooling equipment is often specified for
such end-uses as: CAT scanners, degreasers,
hydraulic equipment, condensers, air
compressors, welding machines, vacuum
pumps, ice machines, x-ray equipment and air
conditioners.
4
* LEED Canada for New Construction and Major Renovations 2009
* BUILD SMART – Greater Vancouver’s Source for Sustainable Building Solutions
Your Fume Hood Rating is:
1 Most Critical Remains in Full Mode 24/7.
2
3
Critical
Only USER has control. Always place into Standby Mode when not in use.
Fume hood is automatically turned Less Critical back to Standby Mode after 8 hours.
Always place into Standby Mode when not in use.
One fume hood in SSB is responsible for the production of 10 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year from heating energy. That’s equivalent to burning 4,310 liters of gasoline. If your fume hood is rated 2 or 3, you can reduce these emissions by always placing your fume hood back into Standby Mode when NOT in use. For more information on fume hoods at SFU, visit: http://www.sfu.ca/facilitiesmanagement/ …
If at any time you wish to change the rating of this fume hood, please email your request to Facilities Management at: http://www.sfu.ca/FacilitiesManagement/contact/contact.html. Allow 24 hours for a response.