Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Giving Students a Safer Laboratory Environment

  • 02/01/15
Safer Laboratory Environment

Greenheck helped to create a safer laboratory environment at the University of Cincinnati while also giving students a more professional space in which to experiment.

Ranked as one of America’s top public research universities, the University of Cincinnati has an enrollment of more than 42,000 students. Many of the university’s biology and chemistry students, as well as faculty, are engaged in important research projects. They spend a considerable amount of time in Rieveschl Hall, an eight-story science research and resource center. Rieveschl Hall was built in 1969 and has undergone extensive renovations to improve energy efficiency and functionality since 2009.

In 2011, the university began upgrading its laboratory exhaust ventilation system on the sixth and seventh floors of Rieveschl Hall and completed that project in the spring of 2012. The newly renovated organic laboratories feature multiple ventilated fume hoods that limit users’ exposure to hazardous material and allow students and researchers to conduct experiments in a safer laboratory environment similar to organic chemistry laboratories in the chemical industry.

Two Greenheck Vektor®-HS demand-based laboratory exhaust systems, with the capacity to move approximately 8,000 cfm, were selected for this project due to their reliable air performance and their ability to reduce energy costs.

The Greenheck systems installed at the University of Cincinnati are expected to significantly reduce energy costs when compared to more traditional variable volume laboratory exhaust systems that utilize bypass air dampers. Consulting Engineer Tom Crompton, director of mechanical engineering at Fosdick and Hilmer, endorses the Greenheck Vektor-HS laboratory exhaust systems based on their potential to reduce energy costs. “It was really good news when Greenheck introduced this product,” Crompton says. “The Vektor-HS has very good payback potential, and it’s ideal for a university laboratory environment where occupancy goes from max to zero every day and you need to be able to control the variable volume exhaust. The installation went very well.”

www.greenheck.com

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Harvard Announces Replacement Facility for Native American Program

    Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., recently announced that construction will begin this spring on a new home for its Native American Program, according to university news. The 6,500-square-foot, all-electric building will stand three stories and serve as the central hub for the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP).

  • USC Launches Major AI Initiative After $200M Gift

    The University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif., recently announced that it has launched a “transformational” new AI initiative thanks to a $200M gift, according to a news release. The project will leverage AI toward breakthroughs and innovations in subjects like the health sciences, business, security, and the arts.

  • Zurn Elkay Releases 2025 Sustainability Report

    Zurn Elkay Water Solutions recently announced the release of its annual sustainability report, according to a news release. The 2025 report discusses the organization’s efforts to maintain good environmental stewardship and the solutions provided in helping customers meet sustainability goals.

  • Ohio State University Opens 26-Story Hospital

    The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center recently opened in Columbus, Ohio, standing 26 stories and covering 1.9 million square feet, according to a university news release. The project marks ten years of effort and is the university’s largest single-facility construction project ever.