Fume Hoods are a piece of laboratory equipment designed to contain chemical fumes so that they can be filtered and/or exhausted away from people or the research being conducted in the laboratory. They are a huge safety device for people and research materials being tested in the lab. Fume hoods are normally steel enclosures with glass doors that slide vertically or horizontally to allow for access by users to conduct research. Services provided inside and outside the fume hood include electrical, data, water, and gases. Fume hoods can be equipped with self contained blowers and filtration systems but are most often connected to external blowers and ductwork that are regulated by the building HVAC mechanical systems.
The fume hoods shown above are a few examples of how they are used and installed in lab and classroom spaces. Fume hoods come in all shapes and sizes from small desktop snorkels to large walk in fume hoods that you can drive a car into. A few common applications include: Biosafety cabinets protect users from bio hazards. Laminar flow hoods protect materials in the fume hood from airborne contaminants. Ductless fume hoods save energy by filtering the exhausted air and recirculating it into the room. Student teaching hoods have glass surrounds so that teachers have better site to the student working at the fume hood.
In order to provide safety in the lab facility, fume hoods must reliably exhaust huge volumes or air. They can be expensive to operate because the blowers that exhaust the air use electricity and because the air exhausted is normally at ambient temperature that has been heated, cooled and filtered for patron comfort and safety. Fume hood innovations over the past ten years have addressed sustainability and energy savings. Today’s hoods can save 50% or more in energy use and provide a strong return on investment.
Since 1966, Academic Specialties has been a fume hood specialist for public and private research labs, high school classrooms, QA and testing labs, medical labs and university teaching and research labs. We design, install, repair, test and certify all types of fume hoods.
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