Making labs greener
Facilities managers from across Greater Boston gathered at Harvard on Thursday to discuss ways to tackle a major source of energy inefficiency and greenhouse-gas emissions: scientific laboratories. Labs are often open late at night and on weekends and holidays, but their round-the-clock nature is only part of the problem. The main culprits are ventilation systems that completely exchange a room’s air every few minutes, typically through powerful rooftop exhaust systems. (The massive air exchange ensures safety from noxious chemicals or infectious agents.) The result, experts said, is that lab buildings have an enormous environmental footprint, consuming six or more times the energy of ordinary office buildings. At Harvard, labs consume 53 percent of the campus’ energy, even though they take up just 23 percent of its square footage, said Executive Vice President Katie Lapp, who introduced the symposium via video. That figure is even higher elsewhere, with labs often consuming two-thirds of campus...