Smart Labs Completes Successful Pilot
October 31, 2024
Smart Labs Completes Successful Pilot,” Sandia National Laboratories details the completion of a pilot program in Building 897 at their Albuquerque site, aimed at enhancing laboratory safety and energy efficiency. A key contributor to this initiative was 3Flow, co-creator of the Smart Labs protocol. 3Flow’s expertise was instrumental in assessing laboratory practices, identifying ventilation hazards, and implementing improvements such as capping unused exhaust hoods, retrofitting existing fume hoods, and replacing inefficient laminar flow hoods. These efforts led to significant energy cost savings and a reduction in the building’s carbon footprint, contributing to Sandia’s goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The Crucial Role of Ventilation Effectiveness in Air Cleaning
August 12, 2024
The Crucial Role of Ventilation Effectiveness in Air Cleaning,” co-authored by Sissi Liu, Dr. Anupriya Tyagi, and Tom Smith, the significance of Ventilation Effectiveness (VEFF) in maintaining indoor air quality is thoroughly examined. The authors discuss how VEFF measures the efficiency of air circulation in removing contaminants and highlight the limitations of traditional HVAC systems that often rely solely on prescriptive ventilation flow rates, neglecting indoor air quality considerations. The article emphasizes the necessity of integrating VEFF into HVAC design to enhance air cleaning performance and ensure healthier indoor environments.
A well-mixed cocktail? Air contaminant levels
August 1, 2023
The difference between the theoretical and real-world profile of air contaminant levels across a room have been starkly demonstrated by Tom Smith, president and CEO at 3flow. At the ASHRAE Conference in June, he reported on how models that assume ‘well-mixed’ room air can significantly underestimate levels of room-sourced contaminants at specific locations in the space. He demonstrated that spatial distributions of potentially harmful contaminants, are strongly influenced by ventilation supply and extract locations, geometries, and flowrates.
A Strategic Approach to Laboratory Ventilation
August 2023
Laboratories are specially designed and constructed to attract top scientists and provide safe environments that support testing, research, and development of new products and innovative technologies. Laboratory fume hoods and their associated ventilation systems serve as the primary means of protecting people working in or around labs. However, fume hoods are not independent pieces of equipment. Rather, they are part of a complex fume hood ventilation (FHV) system with numerous interacting components, all of which must function properly to achieve required performance.
Smart Labs pilot program takes off
July 13, 2023
A new program at Sandia aims to increase occupant safety and make operations more energy efficient. The Sandia Smart Labs pilot has been launched in four buildings in New Mexico and California. On June 28, the team completed its first round of assessments to identify new areas that could be improved by the program. Proven effective by institutions across the country, Smart Labs is a set of best management practices that use risk assessments to analyze and reduce ventilation risks within a laboratory setting.
Tackling the MIT campus’s top energy consumers, building by building
May 25, 2023
When staff in MIT’s Department of Facilities would visualize energy use and carbon-associated emissions by campus buildings, Building 46 always stood out — attributed to its energy intensity, which accounted for 8 percent of MIT’s total campus energy use. This high energy draw was not surprising, as the building is home of the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Complex and a large amount of lab space, but it also made the building a perfect candidate for an energy performance audit to seek out potential energy saving opportunities.
3Flow Opens Showcase Test Lab, Modernizes Training Center
August 11, 2022
3Flow, Inc. proudly announces the grand opening of two significant facility improvements at their corporate headquarters in Raleigh-Durham (Cary), North Carolina. 3Flow’s “Showcase Test Lab” will serve as an information hub for laboratory professionals to evaluate and optimize performance of building systems based in intelligent design and integration of smart tools and technologies.
UCLA: Lab Ventilation Risk Assessment Process
May 23, 2022
The Laboratory Ventilation Risk Assessment (LVRA) is a key component for the Smart Buildings and Labs Program, led by Facilities Management, to safely reduce energy in state-funded buildings and assist with achieving UCOP energy initiatives such as carbon neutrality by 2025 and 2% reduction of energy use intensity on an annual basis.
The Pandemic Has Suddenly Shined Light On Long-Neglected Indoor Air Concerns
August 16, 2021
For more than 25 years, Tom Smith has run 3Flow, a company whose sole mission is to make sure people don’t get sick from airborne hazards in their workplaces.
Cary company working to make offices safer from virus for workers
February 25, 2021
A Cary company is running experiments to see how airflow in a building, specifically in a workplace, can impact how COVID-19 germs are spread.
Webinars
Smart Labs are Sustainable, and Sustainable mean Forever
December 4, 2024
Presented at I2SL conference in China, Tom talks about the benefits of smarts labs and how to implement.
COVID-19 Aerosols: Answers to Your Questions – Session 3
January 26, 2021
Previously recorded Q&A session from the COVID-19 aerosols webinar series.
COVID-19 Aerosols: How to Optimize Ventilation – Session 2
January 21, 2021
In session 2 the presenters discuss how ventilation systems operate to increase or decrease risk; the importance of airflow patterns and ventilation effectiveness; and a process to investigate and implement prudent safety measures.
COVID-19 Aerosols: How Airflow Affects Transmission – Session 1
January 19, 2021
In session 1 the presenters discuss how aerosolized pathogens are generated and transmitted indoors; as well as, the links between exposure, dose and infection.