LABS FORTHE 2IST CENTURY"
Laboratories for the 21st Century (Labs21®)
LABS21 IS AN AWARD-WINNING PROGRAM
dedicated to improving the performance
and sustainability of our nation's laborato-
ries and high-performance facilities. Co-spon-
sored by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE), Labs21 provides facility designers, engi-
neers, owners, and facility managers with tools,
resources, and innovative solutions for design-
ing, constructing, and maintaining sustainable
laboratory facilities.
The Labs21 Approach to sustainable laborato-
ries employs a "whole building" perspective.
Improving energy efficiency and environmental
performance requires examining the entire facili-
ty, not just one part of it. Labs21 offers profes-
sionals worldwide an extraordinary opportunity
for information exchange and education through
three interactive components:
• Partnership Program
• Training and Education
• Tool Kit
PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM
Partners
The Labs21 Partner program helps encourage
the development of sustainable, high-perform-
ance, and low-energy laboratories by offering
technical expertise during the design phase of
specific projects. Partner organizations receive
project-specific technical support from the
Labs21 team of experts from Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory and the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory throughout their project(s).
All public and private sector laboratory owners
in the United States are invited to sign their
facilities up to be a Labs21 Partner as a way to
integrate sustainability into their new or retrofit
laboratory project.
Supporters
Supporters are an integral part of Labs21,
helping EPA and DOE promote sustainable labo-
ratories and raise awareness within different
industry sectors. Trade associations, energy serv-
ices contractors, architecture/engineering firms,
and independent energy consultants are all
invited to champion the program as Labs21 Sup-
porters. Through this voluntary partnership
role, Supporters have the opportunity to pro-
mote forward-thinking laboratory construction
and design, while sharing their expertise with
the global community.
Centers of Excellence
Labs21 Centers of Excellence are independent
laboratories run by organizations that share the
goals and objectives of the Labs21 program. The
Centers help implement and promote the goals of
Labs21 by conducting research, demonstration
projects, and educational initiatives to foster a
new generation of sustainable laboratories.
www.labs21century.gov
-------
TRAINING AND EDUCATION
Conference
Since 1999, Labs21 has hosted an annual con-
ference that allows laboratory professionals to
meet and discuss the challenges and opportuni-
ties facing laboratories. Attendees include archi-
tects, engineers, facility managers, laboratory
owners, university representatives, equipment
manufacturers, and others within the laboratory
and high-tech facility community. From techni-
cal sessions, a poster session, workshops, tours,
and symposia, to the successful Technology and
Services Fair, the Labs21 Annual Conference
offers an increasingly significant forum for the
high-performance building industry. The Labs21
Annual Conference is co-sponsored by the Inter-
national Institute for Sustainable Laboratories
(I2SL), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
Workshops
Labs21, through co-sponsor, I2SL, provides a
range of training and educational opportunities
for laboratory professionals. These courses,
which cover topics ranging from the architecture
of high-performance laboratories to the energy-
efficient design process, are taught by seasoned
laboratory designers, energy managers, and facil-
ities professionals. Labs21 currently offers four
workshops:
• Labs21 Introductory Course: High-Perfor-
mance, Low-Energy Design
• Labs21 Advanced Course: Laboratory Ventila-
tion and Design
• Labs21 Workshop: Environmental Perfor-
mance Criteria
• Labs21 Workshop: Operations and Maintenance
These courses and others are offered at various
locations throughout the year. Visit the Labs21
Web site for a complete list of courses, dates, and
locations.
TOOL KIT
The Labs21 program offers a Tool Kit of
resources to support the design, construction,
and operation of high-performance laboratories.
These resources are all available electronically on
the Labs21 Web site.
Current tools include the following:
For an overview:
• Introduction to Low-Energy Design
This publication introduces the basic issues
associated with energy consumption in labora-
tories and summarizes key opportunities to
improve or optimize energy performance.
• Labs21 Video
This 20-minute DVD uses case studies to illus-
trate high-performance laboratory design.
Core informational resources:
• A Design Guide for Energy-Efficient
Research Laboratories
This guide is a searchable reference that helps
the user identify and apply energy efficiency
features in laboratories. The information in the
guide is drawn from direct facilities engineer-
ing experience and an extensive literature
search of more than 230 research papers, con-
ference proceedings, design texts, case studies,
recommended practice, and manufacturers'
experience.
• Best Practice Guides
A series of best practice guides provide infor-
mation on specific technologies that promote
energy efficiency and sustainability in labora-
tories. The guides include information from
applications of these technologies in various
laboratory facilities and highlight quantifiable
performance goals and possible methods to
achieve them.
www.labs21century.gov
-------
Case Studies
Labs21 has developed case studies on several
facilities that have implemented high-perform-
ance design features into new or retrofit labo-
ratory projects. The case studies include
building- and system-level energy perform-
ance data.
Energy Benchmarking
This Web-based database tool allows users to
compare the energy performance of their labo-
ratory facilities to similar facilities, in terms of
energy use metrics (e.g., BTU/sf/yr) as well as
system metrics (e.g., W/cfm), and, thereby,
help identify potential energy cost-saving
opportunities.
Design Process Tools:
Environmental Performance Criteria (EPC)
The EPC is a point-based rating system that
evaluates the environmental sustainability of
laboratory facilities. The EPC builds on the
U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®)
green building rating system, and includes
criteria pertaining to site development, water
use, energy efficiency, material use, and
indoor environmental quality for laboratories.
Design Intent Tool
This database tool provides a structured
approach to recording design decisions that
impact a laboratory's energy efficiency. Own-
ers, designers, and commissioning agents can
plan, monitor, and verify that a facility's
design intent is being met during each stage of
the design process.
• Process Manual
This Web-based manual provides step-by-step
guidance on the design process laboratory,
leveraging the Labs21 tools. It includes a
checklist of process-related action items for
each stage of the building design and delivery
process, with links to relevant Labs21 tools for
each action item and a "quick reference" list
of sustainable design strategies, with links to
Labs21 EPC credits, Best Practice Guides, the
Design Guide, and Case Studies.
GET INVOLVED AND LEARN
MORE
Join the Labs21 Network
This database contains more than 5,000 labora-
tory professionals from around the world that
have attended Labs21 conferences or workshops
or are otherwise interested in the program.
Become a member of the Labs21 Network. To sign
up, visit .
For more information on Labs21 and the
resources described in this document, please
visit or contact us at
703-841-2194 or .
www.labs21century.gov
------- |