CR 06: Low-pressure-drop HVAC design for laboratories

Laboratory ventilation systems are designed to isolate and protect occupants from hazardous fumes and at the same time provide outside air at comfortable conditions. This often results in high air flow rates whereby the electrical fan energy use can be very high. For the building described in the paper, the fan energy use is 44% of the total electricity use in the building.
This guide is part of a series on best practices for laboratories and focuses on the use of low-pressure air distribution systems.
The guide presents several strategies for reducing the pressure drop in each component of the air distribution system.