November 14, 2019

I2SL Annual Conference Recap + End of the Year Social

Event photos: LinkedIn

Event presentations: Google Drive

Event feedback form: Google Form

We were honored to have speakers from UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Taylor Engineering, and Affiliated Engineers, Inc. speak about the best lab sustainability practices to save energy, water, and improve safety.

UC Berkeley, Center for Information Technology Research (CITRUS)

Sutardja Dai Hall

Berkeley, CA 94720

Event Speakers:

Harry Stark (CA Institute for Quantitative Bio-sciences (QB3) and Bruce Chamberlain (UCB Energy Office)

Understanding and Tackling the Energy Gorillas on Campus

Labs represent the largest energy use on campus. Harry Stark and Bruce Chamberlain will provide an overview of Cal's efforts to optimize mechanical systems by implementing a variety of strategies across different lab types.

Deirdre Carter (LBNL): Integrated Management of Laboratory Ventilation Systems to Save Energy and Improve Safety

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will present on a new integrated laboratory ventilation management program, which it developed with support from the DOE Smart Labs Accelerator and consultants from 3Flow. The program is managed jointly by Sustainable Berkeley Lab and the Lab's Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) and Facilities divisions.

Steve Taylor (Taylor Engineering): 4-Pipe VAV vs. Active Chilled Beams for Labs

To improve efficiency, modern laboratory HVAC designs focus on two primary goals: minimizing the energy used to condition outdoor air and minimizing terminal unit reheat energy. In this regard, several guides and articles encourage using active chilled beams (ACB) in lab zones. But ACBs are often not the best choice from a cost and efficiency perspective. This presentation discusses an alternative design, 4-pipe VAV (4PVAV) systems, which is often cheaper and more efficient. The presentation will discuss the details of what makes a lab ventilation-dominated, hood-dominated or load-dominated and how these categories help define when ACB or 4-pipe VAV systems can save more energy.

Megan Gunther (Affiliated Engineers Inc.): Evaporative Cooling for Lab Design: Balancing the Use of Energy and Water

Evaporative cooling has proved to be very effective in dry climate zones for reducing mechanical cooling loads. When implemented in moderate dry climates, such as California, it can provide even greater savings by extending the available outside air economizing hours annually. For laboratories requiring 100% outside air and greater cooling demands than low-load spaces, evaporative cooling can have a significant impact on cooling energy and peak demand savings. In these same climates, however, water supply is often at threat. Are we able to balance the trade-offs between water consumption and energy reduction? While evaporative cooling increases water consumption directly at the source, there is an opportunity for both water and energy use reduction when we holistically evaluate our building systems, leveraging the energy:water nexus. This session explores the impact these systems can have on both cooling load requirements and water consumption, demonstrated through two different case studies. With each case, the analysis of evaporative cooling, including the tools used, will be presented.

Event Questions:

Please contact Katelyn Jeffcoat, Events Chair at KJeffcoat@paradigmse.com.

June 2019

sustainable Labs Mixer

At DPR in San Francisco, fellow sustainable lab enthusiasts networked and discussed the latest in sustainable lab design, construction, and operation.

Special Guest, Ron Silberstein, Owner & Brewmaster at ThirstyBear provided complimentary beer tastings and gave an interesting presentation on the process of beer making and sustainable practices in their business. ThirstyBear is the first and only brewery in San Francisco to brew certified organic beer and become a certified Green Business!

April 2019

Genentech sustainability Meeting

Genentech pilot plant tour

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Sustainable lab practices presented by Kristi Budzinski (Genentech Green Chemistry/BioPharma Program Manager)

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Implementing the Roche Directive K6 to eliminate all CFCs HCFCs, and HFCs and other chemicals that are harmful to the environment at Genentech presented by Cassie Waddell (Genentech Principal Engineer) and Mark Kehoe (Affiliated Engineers Project Manager)

February 2019

Joint Local ASHRAE /I2SL Meeting

Designing Safe and Energy Efficient Laboratory Exhaust Systems under the 2019 California Title 24 Regulations

Presented by Brad Cochran

November 2018

I²SL Annual Conference recap

Three top Bay Area laboratory leaders shared their presentations from the conference, which was held in Raleigh, North Carolina in October. We learned about the upcoming new I²SL/DOE lab benchmarking tool, the latest in green lab certifications and sustainable procurement, and the mechanical design of an outstanding new, modern laboratory facility. The future of sustainable labs has never looked so great.

September 2018

Hard Hat Lab Tour - Gilead

A hard hat tour of Gilead Sciences, Building NB324. This new 357,000 sf laboratory building, scheduled to open the second quarter of 2019, will include Biology, Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK), Drug Safety Evaluation, Medicinal Chemistry, and Structural Chemistry labs. It will also allow Gilead to create a centralized location for research laboratories on its Foster City campus.

May 2018

Kickoff Social- McCarthy Construction

A network event with other professionals interested in the sustainability of research facilities where we heard about all the exciting upcoming events for the rest of the year.

Event photos