An Unsettled Science: Finding The Design Basis For VAV Fume Hood Exhaust Airflow
VAV laboratory fume hoods have dominated the laboratory design world for the last 25 years. Conventional wisdom suggests that the specification of the design exhaust flow rate for them is an established rule, but in fact, it is not. The method for specifying exhaust airflow varies depending on the engineer’s experience, owner’s standards, and industry guidance through consensus standards. This article summarizes the available knowledge on this subject and prescribes an approach to establishing the design exhaust airflow from a laboratory fume hood.
A broad design basis can be used as a starting point: