Laboratory Design Newsletter - January/February 2014

um—as low as 1.5 Torr and even programmable—to several users at once, and yet still rely on a small, chemical-resistant, under-bench pump. In-lab networks also avoid the risk of interference and cross-contamination from activities in other labs.

Finally, by using variable speed pumps as “server” pumps for local vacuum networks, you have a truly efficient, sustainable vacuum system that reduces energy consumption by 90% or more, saves lab space and offers the adaptability to accommodate future needs without overbuilding now. Add an electronic vapor condenser, and you can also trap waste vapors near the vacuum applications without any external coolant source, and reduce building emissions.

In summary, modern options for lab vacuum can either support or compromise your efforts to build and operate labs sustainably. The right vacuum choice can: reduce energy consumption; conserve water; use material resources most efficiently; ensure the long-term performance of lab buildings, by adapting as needs change; minimize waste-vapor releases to the atmosphere; improve scientific results; and do all of this economically over the life of the lab.

Peter Coffey is Vice President – Marketing for VACUUBRAND Inc. He can be contacted at pcoffey@vacuubrand.net. www.vacuubrand.com

Let’s take a look at four innovative approaches to lab vacuum that can make big contributions to your sustainability goals.

Multitasking pumps can operate two applications at once, saving space and energy. Depending on the pumping system you select, the two applications may be supported manually or electronically. Such pumps can even provide independent, programmable control to two distinct applications.

Vacuum pumps with variable motor-speed control take advantage of the principle that it takes much more pumping speed to create a vacuum than to maintain it. By having the motor turn only as much as needed to create or maintain the vacuum, vacuum conditions can be continuously optimized while using 80% less energy than needed by a pump that operates continuously at one speed.

Local vacuum networks extend multi-tasking
a step further. A quiet, oil-free pump under
the lab bench or fume hood provides vacuum
to several users in the lab at once. Vacuum
is installed only where needed, so there is no
need to install vacuum everywhere in the
building just to ensure availability in the
future. Specialized vacuum ports enable the
network to provide high performance vacu-
cell culture labs, for example—but can’t sat-
isfy the deeper, evaporative vacuum levels so
often needed in the chemistry labs. As a result,
labs need supplemental lab vacuum pumps,
adding to the already high lifetime energy and
service costs of central vacuum. The outcome
is that central vacuum supply is often a poor
choice both for sustainability and for scientific
reasons.

Traditionally, individual pumps for each vacuum user were the only alternative to central vacuum and aspirators, and they do offer several advantages. Individual pumps can be matched to the scientific need—including a need for precise control—and can change as needs change. There is no need over-invest for some possible future need, and the pumps can be operated on demand, matching electrical consumption exactly to needs. Clearly there is a sustainability advantage here.

Yet even individual pumps have characteristics that offer possibilities for “greener” operations. They can be resource intensive, with low utilization rates, and so may reflect lower efficiency and sustainability than would a shared resource. Further, planning for a lab that relies on individual pumps means planning for additional space for the pumps, and provision for managing exhaust.

innovative solutions

that make your lab more productive

Introducing two NEW innovative products – the

Mistral fume hood and Panorama universal steel cabinet. Specifically developed to meet the demands of modern laboratories moving at the speed of science.