You are here: 6.0 Energy > Ene 07 Energy efficient laboratory systems

Ene 07 Energy efficient laboratory systems

Number of credits available	Minimum standards
Building type dependent	No

Aim

To recognise and encourage laboratory areas that are designed to be energy efficient and minimise the CO₂ emissions associated with their operational energy consumption.

Assessment criteria

This issue is split into three parts:

Pre-requisite
Design specification (1 credit)
Best practice energy efficient measures (up to 4 credits) - building type dependent.

The following is required to demonstrate compliance:

Pre-requisite

Criterion 1 within issue Hea 03 Safe containment in laboratories has been achieved.

One credit - Design specification

Client engagement is sought through consultation during the preparation of the initial project brief (RIBA Stage 1 or equivalent) to determine occupant requirements and define laboratory performance criteria. Performance criteria should include, but not be limited to the following aspects:
1. Description of purpose
2. Occupant/process activities
3. Containment requirements and standards
4. Air change rate requirements
5. Ventilation system performance and efficiencies
6. Heating and cooling requirements
7. Interaction between systems
8. Flexibility/adaptability of laboratory facilities.
The design team demonstrates that the energy demand of the laboratory facilities has been minimised as a result of achieving the defined design performance criteria. This has informed the right-sizing (see Relevant definitions) of the services system equipment (including ventilation supply and extract).

Laboratory containment devices and containment areas (criteria only applicable to buildings containing these facilities)

Specification of fume cupboards and other containment devices has been carried out in compliance with criteria 2 and 3 of issue Hea 03 Safe containment in laboratories, as appropriate to the containment device specification.
Where ducted fume cupboards are specified:
1. Compliance with item A in Table 27 .
2. The measurement of volume flow rate should be taken in the exhaust duct (at the boundary of the laboratory) to take account of reductions in (inward) volume flow rate from fume cupboard leakage.
3. A reduction in air flow does not compromise the defined performance criteria and therefore does not increase the health and safety risk to future building occupants.

Up to four credits - Best practice energy efficient measures

The following criteria are applicable where the laboratory area accounts for at least 10% of the total building floor area (see Relevant definitions).

Criteria 1 to 5 are achieved (or criteria 1 to 4 where ducted fume cupboards are not specified).
Laboratory plant and systems are designed, specified and installed to promote energy efficiency, demonstrated through compliance with items B to L in Table 27 (see 7a. and b. below for how credits are awarded).
1. Up to 2 credits: The laboratory areas (see Relevant definitions) accounts for at least 10% (but less than 25%) of the total building floor area; OR
2. Up to 4 credits: The laboratory area accounts for 25% or more of the total building floor area.
To achieve credits for energy efficient measures, the chosen measure(s) must have a reasonably significant effect on the total energy consumption of the laboratory, i.e. 2% reduction or greater. This must be demonstrated by calculations or modelling.
The energy efficient measures specified do not compromise the defined performance criteria, and therefore do not increase the health and safety risk to future building occupants.

Checklists and tables

Table 27 Best practice energy efficient measures in laboratories

Item	Category	Item description	Credits¹
A	Fume cupboard reduced volume flow rates	An average design air flow rate in the fume cupboards specified no greater than 0.16m3/s per linear metre (internal width) of fume cupboard workspace.	-
Additional items
B	Fan power	Specification and achievement of best practice fan power figures (as shown below) for all air handling units, laboratory extract systems, local extract ventilation, containment area extracts (where applicable) and fume cupboard extracts (where applicable).	1
Laboratory system		Best practice specific fan power (W/(L/s))
General laboratory supply air handling unit (AHU) with heating and cooling		1.5
General laboratory extract systems		1.2
Laboratory local extract ventilation – ducted		1.0
Containment area extract, without high efficiency particulate absorption (HEPA) filtration		1.5
Containment area extract, with HEPA filtration		2.5
Fume cupboard extract		1.5
C	Fume cupboard volume flow rates (further reduction)	An average design air flow rate of < 0.12m³/s per linear metre (internal width) of fume cupboard workspace	0.5
D	Grouping and/or isolation of high filtration/ventilation activities	Minimisation of room air change rates and overall facility ventilation flows by grouping together or isolating activities and equipment with high filtration or ventilation requirements.	0.5
E	Energy recovery - heat	Heat recovery from exhaust air (where there is no risk of cross-contamination) or via refrigerant or water cooling systems.	0.5
F	Energy recovery – cooling	Cooling recovery via exhaust air heat exchangers (where there is no risk of cross-contamination) or via refrigerant or water cooling systems.	0.5
G	Grouping of cooling loads	Grouping of cooling loads to enable supply efficiencies and thermal transfer.	0.5
H	Free cooling	Specification of free cooling coils in chillers or dry air coolers related to laboratory-specific activities.	0.5
I	Load responsiveness	Effective matching of supply with demand through modularity, variable speed drives and pumps, and other mechanisms.	0.5
J	Clean rooms	Specification of particle monitoring systems, linked to airflow controls.	0.5
K	Diversity	Achievement of high levels of diversity in central plant sizing and laboratory duct sizing, where compatible with safety.	0.5
L	Room air changes rates	Reducing air change rates by matching ventilation airflows to environmental needs and demands of containment devices.	0.5
Notes: 1. Only whole credits can be awarded in BREEAM. Therefore to achieve a credit for items C to L (above) the laboratory must comply with at least two of the items. In an instance where, for example, three and half credits are achieved this would need to be rounded down to three credits.

Compliance notes

Ref	Terms	Description
Shell and core
CN1	Applicable assessment criteria	This issue is not applicable.
Simple buildings
CN2	Applicable assessment criteria	This issue is not applicable.
General
CN3	Scope of this BREEAM issue	This issue is applicable only to Further education, Higher education, Offices with Research and development areas and Other buildings with Research and development facilities that contain laboratory space and containment devices and/or areas. This issue is not applicable for School buildings (primary and secondary level). The laboratory criteria within issue Hea 03 Safe containment in laboratories and guidance within G9 Fume Cupboards in Schools (Building Bulletin 88 can be used for assessments in Northern Ireland) should be followed for assessing laboratories and containment devices in these building types. Where containment devices present in a School or Sixth Form College assessment are of a specialist nature more typical of a commercial or research laboratory, BRE should be contacted for further guidance.

Methodology

None.

Evidence

Criteria	Interim design stage	Final post construction stage
All	One or more of the appropriate evidence types listed in The BREEAM evidential requirements section can be used to demonstrate compliance with these criteria.

Additional information

Relevant definitions

Laboratory areas

Laboratory areas are defined as highly serviced (temperature/ventilation/humidity/containment controlled) spaces where physical/biological or chemical processing and/or testing is carried out. Such areas will have inherently high energy demands. In order to maintain controlled conditions to enable experiments and comply with health and safety standards, typically laboratories:

Contain various exhaust and containment devices (such as fume cupboards and microbiological safety cabinets)
Are heavily serviced to circulate air and to supply heating, cooling, humidity, and clean air
Often require 24-hour access and fail-safe redundant backup systems and uninterrupted power supply or emergency power to enable irreplaceable experiments.

Therefore, for the purpose of assessing this BREEAM issue, the definition of laboratory areas excludes any laboratory support areas such as:

Write up/offices
Meeting rooms
Storage
Ancillary and other support areas with lower servicing requirements.

Teaching and other laboratories/workshops with a limited amount of fume cupboards or other containment devices and/or no energy intensive process equipment specified are excluded, unless the design team can provide evidence that their consumption is at least 50% higher than a typical office due to the laboratory process-related activities.
Benchmarks for general offices can be found in Table 27 in CIBSE TM46 Energy benchmarks. Typically, in buildings where 40% of the floor area is laboratory related, only 10% will actually constitute laboratory areas as per the BREEAM definition.
Different types of laboratories have different requirements for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC), plug load equipment and access. This can lead to enormous variations in energy and water requirements. The main types of laboratories include:

Wet laboratories - where chemicals, drugs or other material or biological matter are tested and analysed requiring water, direct ventilation and specialised piped utilities. They typically include chemical science laboratories. These laboratories require specially designed facilities.
Dry laboratories - contain dry stored materials, electronics, and/or large instruments with few piped services. They typically include engineering or analytical laboratories that may require accurate temperature and humidity control, dust control, and clean power.
Microbiological/clinical laboratories - often involve working with infectious agents. They typically require higher levels of primary containment and multiple secondary barriers including specialised ventilation systems to ensure directional air flow, air treatment systems to decontaminate or remove agents from exhaust air, controlled access zones, airlocks as laboratory entrances, or separate buildings or modules to isolate the laboratory.
In vivo laboratories - these require highly controlled environments for the care and maintenance of flora and fauna. The facilities are complex, and expensive to build and to operate. Tight environmental control over the facility is required to avoid the introduction of contaminants or pathogens, and prevent the possibility of infectious outbreaks, and avoid the transmission of odours.
Teaching laboratories - unique to academic institutes, they require space for teaching equipment, storage space for student belongings and less instrumentation than research labs.
Clean rooms - refers to a controlled environment (air quality, temperature and humidity) which prevent contamination and the regulating of environmental conditions, to facilitate accurate research and production needs. They are typically used in UK universities for nanotechnology, medical and pharmaceutical research/studies and microelectronics applications.

Right-sizing

Right-sizing principles encourage the use of better estimates in equipment loads from which services equipment is sized in comparison to traditional methods of estimates based on ‘rated’ data obtained from manufacturers’ literature or design assumptions from previous projects. This can result in construction cost savings in addition to life cycle cost benefits, while taking account of the need for appropriate contingency.

Other information

Synergy with BREEAM issue Ene 01 Reduction of energy use and carbon emissions

This BREEAM issue has been developed to recognise improvements made to new laboratory areas/buildings that are not currently fully recognised in the National Calculation Methodology, used to assess and award credits in Ene 01 Reduction of energy use and carbon emissions.