Laboratory facilities represent an ever-expanding growth opportunity
for advanced, environmentally preferred, building technologies.
The typical laboratory uses far more energy and water per square
metre than the typical office building due to intensive ventilation
requirements and other health and safety concerns. Because the
requirements of laboratory facilities differ so dramatically
from those of other buildings, a clear need exists for an initiative
exclusively targeting these facilities.
Laboratories are so energy-intensive for a number of reasons:
· They contain large numbers of containment and exhaust
devices
· They house a great deal of heat-generating equipment
· Scientists often require 24-hour access
· Irreplaceable experiments require fail-safe redundant
backup systems and uninterrupted power supply (UPS) or emergency
power.
Certain types of laboratories are more energy-intensive than
others, due to different equipment plug loads, HVAC requirements
and access. Animal research laboratories and cleanrooms in particular
are highly energy-intensive. Click here for more information
on Types of Laboratories.
Laboratories can constitute as much as 10% of a university's
total floor space, and will consume a disproportionate amount
of energy. With rapidly rising prices of electricity, gas and
water, there are large incentives to reduce energy and water
use associated with laboratories. Benchmarking laboratory energy
and water use is essential for effective management as they
can be used to measure energy and water consumption over time,
in comparison with other similar laboratories or national yardsticks,
and to assess the benefits of energy and water efficiency measures
and technologies. Click here or use the navigation on the left
hand side for more information on benchmarking.
Despite the high energy and water consumption and costs associated
with laboratories, there are still very few exemplary sustainable
laboratory building being developed by the Higher Education
sector. Benchmarking work conducted by HEEPI in 2003 suggested
that some of the newest laboratory buildings were actually the
worst performing in terms of energy and water consumption. This
is partly due to the fact that there are a large number of barriers
to improving energy efficiency in laboratories. Click here for
more information on Barriers
to energy efficiency
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