Designing for Actual, Not Theoretical HVAC Requirements in Laboratory Facilities

J. Patrick Carpenter, Vanderweil Engineers

Most of the "conventional wisdom" applied to the design of HVAC systems for laboratories has been around for quite some time. The approaches typically taken in designs for laboratory ventilation (dilution and containment), fume hoods (containment), and exhaust stacks (dispersion) are largely dictated by a series of generally accepted practices that few professionals know of or really understand the basis for.

While most of these practices do have strong support in an extensive base of largely successful laboratory installations, the real relevance and appropriateness of most of these practices or "rules of thumb" are rooted in a history of laboratory environments that bear little similarity to today's modern laboratories. The challenges of providing for safe and controlled environments in the uncertain realms of laboratory experimentation have traditionally and almost necessarily evolved into conservative approaches that espouse more velocity, more air changes, more airflow, and more outside air.

Historically, the "more is better" syndrome was both necessary and appropriate. Because of the indeterminate nature of the work being done in laboratories and because the monitoring and control systems typically applied to laboratories were questionably accurate and potentially unreliable, many standards and codes typically adopted conservative approaches.

But energy and economic pressures together with enlightened consciousness of the needs for sustainability have put progressively more burden on owners and design professionals to challenge more of the traditional assumptions inherent in laboratory design. Everyone is driven to rationalize and better justify their decisions as the most appropriate and optimal rather than just being correct according to conventional practice.

This presentation will define and compare both the historical context, current practices, and likely futures of design considerations in laboratories by fundamentally challenging every design assumption laboratory professionals make. By looking at the aspects of comfort, safety, efficiency, effectiveness, flexibility, and reliability, this presentation will identify the relevance and appropriateness of many design decisions for both architecture and engineering for their ultimate impact on engineering systems in laboratories. It will focus on their impacts on performance, construction costs, and ultimately energy and sustainable costs, while offering suggestions on a process that can meet all real requirements with less instead of more.

Biography:

J. Patrick Carpenter, P.E., a principal with Vanderweil Engineers in Princeton, New Jersey, is a nationally recognized leader in engineering systems for laboratory, animal, and other high-technology facilities. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering and is a registered Professional Engineer in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Mr. Carpenter has over 35 years experience engineering systems for corporate, government, and institutional clients and has been responsible for the conception, development, commissioning, and troubleshooting of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems for numerous laboratory and vivaria projects. His holistic view of engineering emphasizes safety, reliability, operational effectiveness, energy conservation, flexibility, and sustainability of systems.

His experience includes projects for U.S. Department of Agriculture, University of Colorado Health Science Center, Rutgers University, Food and Drug Administration, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, U.S. Navy, Cornell University, Merck, DuPont, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Wyeth-Ayerst, Aventis, Pfizer, Glaxo, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, MedImmune, Exxon, ARAMCO, and Rohm & Haas.

He is active in professional organizations such as ASHRAE, AIHA, ISPE, and Building Commissioning Association. His ASHRAE activity includes 22 years involvement with technical committees involving laboratories, clean spaces, industrial ventilation, and energy calculations. He also served on the committee that rewrote ASHRAE Standard 100.5 for Energy Conservation in Existing Buildings and on committees for the 1995 and 2007 editions of ASHRAE Standard 110 for Performance Testing of Laboratory Fume Hoods. He has participated in all Labs21 Conferences over the last seven years, making nine presentations and moderating several sessions and roundtables.

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