Chemical fume hoods
Lab ventilation is highly energy intensive and fume hoods are among the highest energy consumption equipment you can find in a laboratory.
A properly operating and correctly used fume hood can reduce or eliminate exposure to volatile liquids, dusts and mists. Constant air volume (CAV) hoods move constant volumes of air. The more current variable air volume (VAV) hoods can change the amount of air being exhausted. By simply lowering the sash when not in use, their energy use can be sensibly reduced.
See the Nature article on ULT energy use for further information.
Lab users' safety must always be prioritised, but this safety should also be achieved with the lowest energy consumption possible, which means that a VAV hood’s sash should always be closed when it’s not in use.
When using a fume hood, please:
- Raise the sash as little as possible to ensure full functionality
- Keep the fume hood clear of unnecessary items
- Never use a fume hood in alarm mode
- Move arms slowly in and out of the hood. If possible, avoid unnecessary movement in front of the hood
- Wear proper personal protective equipment and never extend your head inside a fume hood
- Work at least 15 cm inside the hood
- Ensure that the equipment is placed at least 20 cm behind the sash, 10 cm from the sidewalls and is not blocking the back baffle opening
- Keep the sash closed when running an unattended experiment or when the fume hood is not in use
- Turn off the hood when not in use, if it is safe to do so
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Get in touch
If you have any comments or recommendations on how to make our labs more sustainable, please contact us and provide your feedback!
LEAF Team
Email: LEAF@exeter.ac.uk
