“The rule is the same for sustainable labs as it is for any lab design: one size doesn’t fit all.”
Megan, PE, LEED® AP
AEI Project Engineer
School of Medicine South Lake Union Campus, Reducing lab energy consumption with chilled beam. A program where heat gain, rather than fume ventilation, primarily determines air flow rates suggests lab conditions suited to the use of energy-efficient decentralized chilled beam cooling technology. Having teamed with the National Institutes of Health through their Sustainable Design Initiative to decrease energy use in labs, AEI previously tested several configurations of chilled beams through full-sized mockups and extensive CFD analyses. In addition to climate control and support of a safe and functional lab environment, chilled beam represents potential energy savings, improved spatial efficiencies, simpler maintenance, quieter operation, and more uniform air temperature and velocity distribution. By separating cooling demand from required ventilation, the peak air change rate can be reduced by over 50%. Operational since 2008, the facility is among the largest lab applications of chilled beam in the world.
Services: Mechanical, Electrical, Piping/Plumbing, Technology, Sustainability, Architectural Lighting Design,
Size: 366,000 sf (total), 100,000 sf (Phase I), 266,000 sf (Phase II)
Location: Seattle, WA
Architect: Perkins+Will
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