Dedicated to advancing sustainable laboratories globally.
F1 Decarbonization | Energy Recovery
Evaporative Cooling: Going Beyond "Normal"
Many labs require humidification, which is a substantial energy load, expense and maintenance item. Adiabatic cooling, aka "evaporative" (or worse, "swamp") cooling, is often used in the West, where it's dry and the difference between dry and wet bulb temperatures in the summer are large; however, it's seldom used in the East. ASHRAE 62.1 was updated in 2022 and addressed evaporative cooling control, recognizing problems with poor evaporative cooling control. This presentation reviews multiple methods and benefits of year round humidification control, analyzing energy source, efficiency, water use and required water treatment. Additionally, this presentation investigates the impact energy recovery can have on humidification energy and building efficiency and discusses best practices on construction, control, through examples in Denver and analyzing areas such as Chicago and Boston.
Energy Recovery and Integrated Heat Pumps: A Path to Electrification for a Large Boston Lab Building
Any goal of designing 100 percent electric buildings in colder climates, must focus on the reduction of heating demand and the elimination the need for natural gas boilers. Depending on climate zone, the design included in this presentation is capable of providing a solution that delivers 60 to 95 percent of the annual outside air heating requirement via all-electric. Any balance of the heating requirement could be provided by either gas or electric boilers. While the lowest first cost solution to full electrification may in some cases be the application of direct-electric boilers, the extreme demands placed on the electric grid and the energy costs can result in significant downsides associated with grid resiliency and annual utility budget. A more sustainable solution is the integration of heat pumps with high-performance energy recovery, designed to maximize the reduction of both peak heating and cooling demand, while minimizing annual operating costs. This concept has been realized at the Lab Building at 325 Binney Street in Boston, with a year of operating data now available.The level of electrification surpassed expectations, the freeze/defrost cycles of the exhaust air coils measured vs. predicted show the predictive models were on the conservative end, while final testing and implementation demonstrated the need for additional shared data points between the heat pump and energy recovery system that were not a part of the initial scope.
How a Research Campus Is Achieving Decarbonization by Reusing Waste Heat
As building owners plan for decarbonization, it is apparent how costly and capital intensive it is. Campuses with a dominant heating load face particular challenges in eliminating fossil use. These challenges highlight the importance of energy recovery instead of exhausting waste heat to the atmosphere. This presentation will describe several strategies used by a medical university in the Northeast to improve the overall heat recovery at the campus: enhancing the performance of existing heat recovery systems; adding capacity to existing heat recovery systems; and retrofitting existing air handling systems with new heat recovery. The initial phase of heat recovery projects seeks to improve the performance of existing systems. This includes controls improvements on the existing system such as three-way to two-way valve conversion and improving the performance of the hydraulic distribution. The second phase of the heat recovery improvement involves capacity to the existing heat recovery systems. This will discuss the challenges and lessons learned adding heat recovery to an existing process cooling system and adding a heat recovery chiller to an existing cooling plant. The final phase of the presentation will describe the design efforts our team is currently undertaking to continue the heat recovery at this campus, including false cooling to add chilled water load to the heat recovery chiller and exhaust source heat pumps.
F2 Sustainable Science | Get Smart With Lab Supplies
Why Not? Replacing Plastic Labware With a 100% Plant-Based Alternative
The presentation will look at a core issue affecting the carbon footprint of life science laboratories, the reliance on fossil fuels for single-use plastic consumables, and explore the viability of plant-based material as a replacement for petroleum-based lab plastics. Specifically examined will be polylactic acid (PLA), a 100 percent plant-based material with an 83 percent lower Global Warming Potential than polystyrene, a common labware plastic. The presentation will present challenges associated with adapting PLA for laboratory use, such as temperature resistance and moisture susceptibility, and how solving this challenge using a closed-loop drying system and specialized injection molds led to a 40 percent higher initial seeding density when compared to traditional tissue culture surfaces. It will also address how to address researcher apprehension when considering switching to an organic alternative and cover benefits from both an environmental and equitability standpoint, for instance, how Bon Sucro-certification of sugarcane plantations leads to safer conditions and higher wages for workers and how disposal of PLA labware is safer when incinerated and more environmentally friendly when landfilled. It will also look ahead to how future infrastructure improvements will allow for chemical recycling and industrial composting of PLA.
The Certified Most Sustainable Conference Talk: Greenwashing 101
Join us for the Certified Most Sustainable Conference Talk as speakers explore the topic of "greenwashing," including ways to identify and avoid it. The sustainable science community continues to make great strides towards more efficient laboratories, buildings and practices, and many purchasers desire to prioritize sustainable procurement. However, it is not always clear to purchasers which consumables, equipment, or other products truly are sustainable. Additionally, global bioscientific supply chains are long, multi-tiered and opaque, often lacking transparency. Many companies turn to greenwashing and intentionally use misleading advertising, certifications, or public-facing language to convince consumers they are sustainably superior. This session will provide an introduction to greenwashing, explore methods for truth-seeking, and provide interactive examples to help attendees begin to feel more confident in spotting greenwashing and embracing sustainable procurement.
F3 Sustainable Design | Sustainable Design Challenges
Implementing Green Fit-Out Projects in LEED Platinum Core-and-Shell Commercial Science Buildings
Core-and-shell commercial science buildings, which serve as the foundation for life science and other laboratory type commercial tenant fit-outs, represent a significant opportunity for implementing sustainable design strategies. This presentation will explore innovative approaches to implement green fit-out projects to reduce carbon emissions while maintaining functionality, occupant health and wellness, and economic viability.
​Steering the Titanic: How New Ideas Shaped the Sustainable Design of a High-Density Chemistry Lab Building
From unique physical and space requirements to large demands placed on energy and utility systems, there is no shortage of challenging problems to solve in the design of laboratory buildings. Sometimes though, designing to meet these generally well-understood criteria is not enough to be successful. When seeking to exceed benchmarks, application of novel design concepts may be necessary. Walking this path with established institutions can be a delicate but rewarding process. This presentation focuses on "firsts" in the design of a new 133,000 SF high-density chemistry laboratory building, exploring which new ideas were necessary, and how they were important to achieving success. While embracing sustainable design best practices for laboratory buildings, implementation of key design features has helped the process—and the final product—stand apart from others. Examples of key design components include everything from mass timber and flat roofs to novel process cooling strategies, HVAC elements, and other "new to us" approaches.
Building a Sustainable Home to Prevent and Cure Human Disease
The Ragon Institute's new 330,000 SF laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, exemplifies a forward-thinking, adaptable approach to research facility design. The building integrates cutting-edge lab spaces with sustainability, occupant well-being, and community engagement features. The design process involved extensive collaboration with scientists, staff, and local stakeholders to create a flexible, long-lasting space that supports evolving scientific needs. Key features include easily reconfigured modular lab furnishings; high-efficiency energy strategies that reduce consumption by 61 percent compared to the 2030 baseline; and water conservation measures including greywater recycling and stormwater management. Biophilic design elements include abundant daylight, natural views, and operable windows which foster a healthy environment, while inclusivity is emphasized through public spaces and a childcare center, serving both employees and local residents. Elevation above the 100-year floodplain and readiness for future energy transitions ensures resilience against climate-related challenges. The building stands as a testament to how modern research facilities can simultaneously support scientific progress and community well-being, positioning the Ragon Institute as a leader in sustainable, adaptable, and resilient research infrastructure.
F4 System Optimization | Exhausting Ways to Save Energy
AIM for Success With Advanced Exhaust Fan System Controls
So you've added your building data into the I2SL Laboratory Benchmarking Tool (LBT) and received an Energy Score that is not so great; time to take some action and see what opportunities exist to make your lab more energy-efficient and reduce your carbon emissions! Perhaps you've tried the new Actionable Insights and Measures (AIM) Report tool on the LBT, and you see "Advanced exhaust fan system controls" as one of the energy-saving measures with a high energy savings and low simple payback. You select this measure, along with a few others that are designed to reduce the ventilation rates within your labs and see a significant reduction in your EUI, a much higher energy score and a very reasonable simple payback. You're definitely intrigued, but now what? This presentation will step through the process of taking the results from the AIM Report, creating a business case, and moving into a viable project so that you can reap the energy savings associated with advanced exhaust fan system controls.
AI and Beyond: The Ever-Expanding Toolkit for Modeling the Physics of Exhaust Dispersion and Design
Today's world is evolving at a rapid pace, with new design considerations and technologies designed to help address these considerations popping up at a seemingly ever-increasing rate. In the past decade we have seen nebulous technological ideas such as artificial intelligence jump the gap into mainstream adaptation and result in widespread changes to how our world operates. Despite the potential changes in how we approach problems, however, the underlying challenges, particularly when they are physics-related, remain the same.This presentation will explore the underlying physics impacting exhaust dispersion and examine the suite of modeling tools available to provide design guidance for exhaust stacks in light of how they represent these physics. The strengths and weaknesses of AI compared to more traditional tools, such as numerical modeling, wind-tunnel testing, and computational fluid dynamics will be considered. Examples where AI is currently being applied to address design challenges and the steps taken and challenges encountered when developing these AI tools will also be discussed. This talk will examine potential barriers to adoption, as well as steps to expand the use of AI to a wider scope of design problems. When grappling with the impacts of climate change and new demands being placed on building systems, AI can be applied, along with the more traditional repertoire of building performance-based design tools, to help propel exhaust plumes to new levels.
Innovative Solutions for Laboratory HVAC: Leveraging CFD for Better Outcomes
Laboratories are well-known for their substantial energy consumption, often using 5 to 10 times more energy per square foot than office buildings. Unlike office buildings, laboratories require 100 percent outside air, often between 10 to 15 air changes per hour (ACH) to meet the stringent exhaust requirements. The manner in which ventilation air is delivered to and exhausted from laboratory spaces plays a crucial role in influencing both energy performance and safety. Proper ventilation is essential to ensure the removal of hazardous fumes and maintain a safe working environment.This presentation will explore how computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can be utilized to optimize airflow, heat transfer, and overall indoor environmental quality in laboratories. CFD allows for detailed simulations of air movement and temperature distribution, providing valuable insights that can lead to more efficient and effective ventilation designs. The industry's lack of data-driven decision-making has resulted in spaces that do not fully meet design objectives, often leading to higher energy consumption and compromised safety. By incorporating CFD into design workflows from the early stages, we can bridge this gap and achieve results that ensure both the safety and sustainability of laboratory designs. Our aim is to present a holistic, high-performance, sustainable solution that incorporates CFD workflows.
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