Many of the “standard” incentive options available to all commercial facilities also apply to laboratories: Natural gas incentives are also available for measures that reduce electricity and heating loads, such as reduced air changes per hour or VAV retrofits. This measure can be used for existing laboratories that already have VAV and fume hood controls. Reduce/optimize air-changes per hour (ACH): $0.75/cfm incentive to reduce ventilation rates in the laboratory by 10% or more, if other prescriptive incentives mentioned above are not utilized.Low-pressure-drop pre-filters: $15 per 1,000 cfm for high-performance filters (0.48 inches w.c.) installed on existing VAV air-handling units that are designed for 380 fpm face velocity or higher.Low-pressure-drop HEPA filters: $50 per 1,000 cfm for high-performance HEPA filters (0.8 inches w.c.) installed on existing VAV air-handling units that are designed for 380 fpm face velocity or higher.Sash stops : $5 per linear foot of hood if a sash stop is installed on a hood that lacks one.Automatic fume hood sash closers: $150 per linear foot of hood when automatic sash-closing equipment is retrofitted to a VAV-capable fume hood.Fume hood occupancy controls: $100 per linear foot of hood for installing controls that automatically reduce face velocity from 100 feet per minute to 75 feet per minute (or less) based on occupancy.Variable air volume fume hood retrofit from constant volume: $250 per linear foot of hood for laboratories whose ventilation rates are determined by fume-hood quantity.New fume hoods operating at a face velocity of 50 to 60 feet per minute: $400 per linear foot of hood, depending on factors that will be evaluated during the laboratory TAS analysis.Laboratory-specific project incentives are available from ComEd: Heat recovery from exhaust or process equipment, reduction of reheat, and other methods to optimize ventilation and cooling systems.Installation of high-performance fume hoods, VAV hoods, automatic sash closers, and sash stops.Fume hood and space occupancy controls and variable air volume (VAV) retrofits.

Air-handling unit improvements (for instance, low-pressure-drop filters and airflow reductions).Typical retrofits resulting from a laboratory TAS analysis include: The chart above presents data from the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories' Benchmarking Tool, showing that laboratory facilities subjected to Chicago weather use 200 kBtu/sf/year to 750 kBtu/sf/year (depending on fume hood density and ratio of laboratory space to administrative functions). This wide range is a likely indicator that many labs could benefit from analytical studies and energy conservation measures. Owners can use the program to study entire laboratory buildings or to examine laboratory zones inside larger facilities. Smaller facilities are not required to make a co-payment. Laboratories larger than 50,000 square feet are required to contribute $10,000 toward the cost of a TAS study, which is worth up to $50,000. Lab-control strategies are now available to reduce the need for exhaust air while maintaining a safe research environment.ĬomEd recently announced the Laboratory Technical Assistance Service (TAS) program: a new initiative designed to help lab facilities identify energy-saving measures and match appropriate projects with incentive funding. Labs can use 3X to 10X as much energy as a typical office building (on a per-square-foot basis). Laboratories are energy-intensive due to high exhaust requirements, 24 hours per day. Lab exhaust stacks are for chemicals, not money! September 2ĬomEd's new Laboratory Technical Assistance Service program aims to help organizations make ther labs more energy-efficient and economical to operate, with generous rebates available.

Hood stacks of money