Design Consideration of Exhaust Dispersion/Microclimate Effects, Noise, Acoustics, and Vibration for Labs21 Environmental Performance Criteria, LEED® 2009 for Healthcare, and GreenGuide for Health Care Credits
Aimée Smith, M.E., P.E., Rowan Williams Davies and Irwin, Inc. (RWDI)
Recent rating systems geared toward laboratories and healthcare facilities (i.e., Labs21 Environmental Performance Criteria [EPC], LEED 2009 Healthcare [HC], and GreenGuide for Healthcare [GGHC]) include credits for design consideration of exhaust infiltration, noise, acoustics, and vibration that are not included in the LEED Building Design + Construction (BD+C) rating system. In fact, formal reports and modeling results are required for the newer rating systems to demonstrate that these areas have been adequately addressed. This is a positive movement in the laboratory and healthcare design community as a more in-depth consideration of these design aspects will not only serve toward a goal of achieving certification, but will also result in high-performance facilities.
To obtain many of these credits and satisfy the prerequisites, different aspects of the local wind environment and resultant microclimate effects need to be considered throughout the design process. The design of exhausts and outside air intakes must be considered using detailed dispersion modeling to reduce the potential for undesirable levels of re-entrainment and unacceptable contaminant levels entering the facility through the building air supply. A detailed evaluation of the acoustic environment including sound isolation, room acoustics, vibration consideration, environmental noise modeling, and, in some cases, measurement of existing background noise conditions must be carried out to achieve a design that satisfies the noise and vibration criteria.
During this presentation, the speaker will not only focus on the design considerations and specialized modeling efforts required to obtain these credits, but will also identify and discuss aspects associated with these credits that could be further optimized beyond the requirements for certification.
Biography:
Aimée Smith has a Bachelor of Science in environmental engineering from the University of Guelph and a master's degree in civil engineering from Carleton University and is a registered professional engineer in the province of Ontario. Ms. Smith is a principal of RWDI in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, and a project director in RWDI's Building Science division. Ms. Smith provides design ideas to clients and focuses on different aspects of building performance as it is influenced by the local microclimate. In particular, Ms. Smith specializes in exhaust re-entrainment studies for the design of building exhaust and air intake systems for laboratory, healthcare, and other related facilities.