Explore energy saving advice on fume cupboards and ventilation, and how to make use of funding for sustainability improvements to your lab. Did you know that a fume cupboard can use up to £2,000 of energy each year if not used efficiently? That’s roughly twice the average UK home. Luckily there are quick and easy ways to make substantial improvements in sustainability, saving cost and carbon. Use your fume cupboard efficientlyIf possible, switch off the fume cupboard when not in use. This is not always possible – check with your lab manager or building technical manager. Don't use the fume cupboard as a storage cupboard – use it for experimental processes only. Materials that need ventilated storage should be stored in ventilated cupboards, not a fume cupboard. Fume cupboards use up to 100x more energy than a ventilated cupboard.Display our fume cupboard resourcesCompare what you do to our fume cupboard best practice poster.This is also covered in the lab sustainability training presentation video above. Document A4 poster: Fume cupboard best practice (two pages) (771.34 KB / PDF) Use our fume cupboard label to remind colleagues to shut the sash. This can be printed on an A1 sheet, or across multiple A2, A3 or A4 sheets and joined together. The safe zone is 500mm. Document Fume cupboard label (63.09 KB / PDF) Read lab ventilation policy, guidance and best practice Read the University’s policy and guidance on lab ventilation. Document Lab ventilation policy and guidance (607.15 KB / PDF) Read our ventilation best practice, including: VAV fume cupboards; optimising face velocities; replacing old plant; demand-based ventilation; shut the sash; set-back of ventilation rates; and low flow fume cupboards. Document Ventilation best practice (288.47 KB / PDF) Apply for the Sustainable Campus FundThe Sustainable Campus Fund can be used to support improvements to fume cupboards or lab ventilation – for example, if you are currently using your fume cupboard as a storage device for chemicals we can help you replace it with a separate ventilated cabinet which saves 99% of the energy.Please email the Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability if you are interested in this.SRS.Department@ed.ac.uk This article was published on 2024-10-01
