Fume Hoods

Links: Main high-performance fume-hood site • Brochure • Fume Hood Energy Calculator • Publications

Although only a few feet tall, a typical laboratory fume hood consumes more energy than three homes - an average of $5,000/year (and up to twice as much in hot climates). The U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) is developing a high-performance fume hood that could ultimately save more than half of the $3.2 billion spent across the United States each year on energy associated with hoods, while enhancing worker safety. Small supply fans located at the top and bottom of the hood's face, push air into the hood and into the user's breathing zone, setting up an "air divider" at the hood opening. This enables better containment of pollutants in the hood, with dramatically less fan and space-conditioning energy requirements. High-performance hoods offer another benefit to laboratory managers by addressing the problem that many existing labs are "starved for air" (i.e. have insufficient air supply capacity to allow more hoods to be installed). By improving containment performance and lowering the necessary amount of airflow, efficient hoods can allow for more work stations and hence more research productivity. LBNL has worked with industry to design, fabricate, and field-test a number of prototypes.

Key Areas of Research Currently Under Way:

• Develop Technical and Testing Plan to overcome institutional barriers and obtain a variance from CAL/OSHA.
• Conduct side-by-side tests with conventional hoods.
• Perform Industrial Field Demonstrations, e.g. for automated sash closure.