Required response time for variable air volume fume hood controllers

This paper describes results from tests made with the aim of investigating how quickly the exhaust air flow rate through fume hoods needs to be controlled in order to prevent contaminants from leaking out of the fume hood and putting the safety of the laboratory personnel at risk. The measurements were made on a laboratory fume hood in a chemical laboratory. There were no other fume hoods in the laboratory, and the measurements were made without interference from persons entering or leaving the laboratory or walking about in it. A tracer gas method was used with the concentration of dinitrogen oxide (N2O) being recorded by a Foxboro Miran 101 infra-red gas analyser. In parallel with the tracer gas measurements, the air velocity through the face opening was also measured, as was the control signal to the damper controlling the air flow rate. The measurements show an increased outward leakage of tracer gas from the fume hood if the air flow rate is not re-established within 1–2 s after the sash is opened. If the delay exceeds 3 s the safety function is temporarily defeated. The measurements were made under virtually ideal conditions. Under more typical conditions, the fume hood could be exposed to various other external perturbations, which means that the control system should re-establish the correct exhaust flow more quickly than indicated by the measurement results obtained under these almost ideal conditions.