Energy-saving Features of
Esco Frontier® Acela Ducted Fume Hood

Esco Frontier® Acela are high-performance fume hoods that can operate at 60 fpm instead of traditional 100 fpm that saves about $2000/year in electric bills from lower exhaust and make-up air requirement (heating and cooling). The small additional price for a high-performance fume hood will pay off in the first year of usage when compared to a conventional fume hood.

Energy Efficiency

Fume hoods are essential laboratory safety devices that are highly energy-intensive, each one consuming more energy than three homes in an average U.S. climate. Depending on climate and system design, estimated energy costs for fume hoods range up to US$9,000 annually¹, based on face velocities of 0.5 m/s (100 fpm) at full sash open position for a 1.8 m (72.0”) hood.

Variable Air Volume (VAV) is one of the various approaches presently employed to reduce hood energy consumption. The table below compares conventional hoods, VAV hoods, and the Esco Frontier® Acela high-performance low flow hood.

Table 1. Comparison of Conventional hoods, VAV hoods, and Esco Frontier® Acela ducted fume hoods

¹Energy use and savings potential for laboratory fume hoods. Evan Mills, Dale Sartor; Energy, 2003

Compared with conventional hoods, Esco Frontier® Acela operates safely at 0.3 m/s (60 fpm) at 457 mm (18.0”) or full open sash position while maintaining excellent ASHRAE and EN containment. Exhaust volume reductions of up to 60% may be achieved without compromising safety. This translates into an annual operating cost savings of up to US$5,600. Unlike VAV systems, the Esco Frontier® Acela is easy and inexpensive to install, commission, and maintain.

Table 2. Exhaust Volume Reductions (Esco Frontier® Acela fume hood vs. Conventional fume hood)

High containment is achieved by incorporating aerospace technology using airfoils and Computational Fluid Dynamics:

1. Airfoils on all 4 front opening perimeters, to create high velocity airflow to prevent chemical vapor leak on this critical area, where the airflow is weak on conventional hood.

a. Sash Handle Airfoil