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U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Laboratories for the 21st Century Agency Resources

Laboratories for the 21st Century (Labs21) follows a guiding principle that centers on a "whole building" approach. Adopting this approach allows laboratories to improve efficiency for the entire facility instead of focusing on specific laboratory components.

The following resources are designed to help Federal agencies follow this approach:

General Resources

The following general resources and tools aid in energy-efficient laboratory design and operations.

  • Design Guide for Energy-Efficient Research Laboratories: Guide to assist facility owners, architects, engineers, designers, facility managers, and utility demand-side management specialists in identifying and applying advanced energy efficiency features in laboratory environments.

  • Energy Benchmarking Tool: Web-based tool containing energy use information from more than 200 laboratory facilities. The tool allows users to benchmark energy performance in both whole-building and system-level metrics.

  • Laboratory Energy Efficiency Profiler (LEEP): Web-based tool enabling users to identify energy efficiency opportunities with as little user data input as possible. The analyses are based on characteristics of ventilation, heating, cooling, lighting, and plug and process loads. It works in conjunction with the Labs21 Energy Benchmarking Tool.

  • Climate Neutral Research Campuses: Website helping research campuses develop clean energy and carbon-reduction strategies. The site offers methods to evaluate facilities and systems by energy sector and set targets for improvement.

  • Introduction to Low-Energy Design: Overview of energy-efficient strategies for designing and equipping laboratories, including summaries of key issues and opportunities.

  • Labs21 Energy Analysis: Guidelines that apply energy-efficient strategies to a generic laboratory under four different climate conditions.

  • Energy-Efficient Laboratory Equipment Wiki: Labs21 site offering a wiki-based resource covering numerous laboratory energy topics and resources.

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Technical Bulletins

Technical bulletins provide information on the design, construction, and operation of specific technologies that contribute to energy efficiency and sustainability in laboratories. Technical bulletins are similar to the best practices guides, but are more narrowly focused on specific implementations.

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Design Process Tools

Labs21 offers tools to help laboratories undergo design processes. These design process tools include:

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