Life Science Research Centers

The life sciences comprise the branches of science that involve the scientific study of organisms – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings – as well as related considerations like bioethics.
Life Science research centers in universities; biotech facilities and pharmaceutical research and manufacturing facilities, where tomorrow’s finest medicines and scientific practices are tested and refined; where ingenuity thrives, evolves and affects positive change. These centers, require more detailed and focused design engineering than most other types of laboratory environments. The ventilation system must create a safe, comfortable working environment for caregivers. It must ensure that contaminated and odorous air is exhausted and that correct room pressurization is maintained.

Design Consideration

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

Life Science facilities use significant amounts of energy to provide their laboratory areas with 100% fresh air ventilation. Realizing that most labs have clean air in them the vast majority of the time, facility managers often “guesstimate” a lower, fixed air exchange to save energy. Unfortunately, this reduction is not based on the actual condition of the lab, so when the air is clean, the ventilation rates are still relatively high, and when there is need for dilution, the lower fixed rate of exchange may not be enough. Lowering the air exchange rate is the proper thing to do; varying the rate based on actual information about the air is the right way to do it.

Energy consumption:

Laboratories are normally designed as once-through systems, without recirculation. Conditioning, supplying and exhausting the large volumes of air used in laboratories consumes sizeable quantities of energy. Laboratories must be designed so that energy efficiency gains do not reduce safety and comfort.

Exhausted Air Dilution

Many HVAC designs require that fresh air intakes be located away from any possible contamination.  By placing the process exhaust stream away from these intakes and adding dilution air, the design criteria can be achieved. Many locations require that exhaust stream plumes must rise 15 or more meters higher than any air supply connections. Adding outdoor air to the exhaust is the most common approach because it provides the larger plume rise and some internal dilution.

Noise Level

Sound associated with HVAC systems and equipment is generated from multiple sources. All operating equipment generates sound by the inherent vibration of its components.

Laboratory rooms with high air change rates are particularly prone to higher ambient sound levels. The sound generated by HVAC components such as supply and exhaust terminal units which must be in close proximity to the room, and supply air diffusers is mainly dependent on the airflow velocity through these units. The higher the airflow velocity, the higher will be the sound power level generated by the units

Our Offering

  • Proper Design Services as per the international codes & standards to insure proper ventilation rates each part of the facility.
  • Accutrol Air Valves:
    • Low-Pressure Drop: Reducing the overall pressure drop in a ventilation system allows the system to be run at a lower static pressure. This requires less fan horsepower resulting in a significant reduction in energy cost, building’s environmental impact, carbon footprint and lowering noise levels in the duct, making the building environment more pleasant to work in.
    • Occupancy Control, ventilation rates could be reduced during the un-occupied hours, resulting in reducing the energy consumption of the HVAC system.
    • Fast & accurate response to the Air Quality signal received from the IAQ system & change the ventilation rates accordingly to guarantee the integrity of the air.
    • Low-Noise Valve by design: The inspiration for the design of the AccuValve originated from analysis of the design of a silencer
    • Demand Static Pressure Reset Control functionality as per ASHRAE Standard 90.1 Without Additional Hardware.
  • MK Plastics Hazardous Extract Fans & K-KORE Energy Recovery Plenum:
    • High Efficiency Extract Fans requires lower horse power to achieve the building ventilation requirements. All MK Plastics are AMCA certified for performance & has the highest FEG (fan efficiency grade) in the market.
    • High Plume fans using the Bernoulli concept where the fans are designed so that air speed to be in the range (3000-7000 fpm), with this range a low-pressurization zone will be created inside the stack nozzle , as a result fresh air shall be entrained, this new amount of air will ensure the dilution of the exhausted air, and will cause the mass of air to be increased, giving the existing air an extra momentum so that the exhausted air height will be increased without the need for long stack.
    • Revolutionary plenum solution for Energy Recovery Units that is fabricated from composite material, some of the features for the K-KORE plenums
      • Lightweight construction. Up to 40% weight savings vs. steel construction.
      • True no-thru-metal construction throughout the entire cabinet depth.
      • Unlimited salt-spray resistance
      • Highly Corrosion resistance.
      • Flame Spread index of less than 25 when tested according to UL 723.
  • MSA Indoor Air Quality System:
    • For monitoring of the air quality in each critical area of the building. The system shall generate a proportional signal corresponding to the air quality of the controlled area.
    • Changing the ventilation rates based on the air quality rather than rely on a single ventilation rate would be more energy efficient.

Application

Following are various types of critical environment areas / applications

Pharmaceutical Clean Room

      • Accutrol TP solution along with Setra Room Pressure monitoring system achieve full airflow control, Accutrol Tracking Pair Airflow control solution along with Setra pressure monitors achieves full airflow monitoring /control. The system can achieve the following requirements:
      • Positively Pressurization Controlled environment
      • Temperature Control
      • Humidity Control
      • Bio-safety cabinet – air containment control & alarming
      • MSA Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) system to monitor the air integrity inside the lab area & generates a ventilation demand signal accordingly. This signal shall be used by the Accuvalves to modulate the lab space ventilation rates accordingly.

Vivarium Spaces

Accutrol Tracking Pair Airflow control solution along with Setra pressure monitors to maintain required conditions within the vivarium space full airflow monitoring /control. The system can achieve the following requirements:

      • Cage Rack Pressurization Control
      • Positively Pressurization Controlled environment
      • Temperature Control
      • Humidity Control
      • Bio-safety cabinet – air containment control & alarming

 

      • MK Plastics High Plume Fans used for the safe extraction of the odorous fumes generated inside the laboratory space.
      • MSA Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) system to monitor the air integrity inside the lab area & generates a ventilation demand signal accordingly. This signal shall be used by the Accuvalves to modulate the lab space ventilation rates accordingly.

Support Spaces

      • Accutrol Tracking pair solution achieves full airflow control and the high air change rates required in support spaces. The system can achieve the following requirements:
      • Pressurization Control (Positive Pressure)
      • Ventilation Demand
      • Temperature Control

 

      • MSA Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) system to monitor the air integrity inside the support area & generates a ventilation demand signal accordingly. This signal shall be used by the Accuvalves to modulate the ventilation rates accordingly.