I'm working with a large school project seaking LEED certification. The schools has both chemistry classes and technical spaces for upper grades. These spaces are equipped with enhanced ventilation with no recirculation to deal with potential fumes from painting and chimical experiments. However, due the nature of the use and safety demands, mostly water based paints and mild chemical are used.
Should the class rooms be subject to the demand for underpressuration? Or could pressuration be handled in-room with separate supply and exhaust zones.
If so, this leads to trouble conserning reaching acoustical performance demands for corridor-classrooms walls and doors.
Chemistry class will be equipped with at least one fume cupbourd.
Allison Beer McKenzie
Architect, Director of SustainabilitySHP Leading Design
LEEDuser Expert
646 thumbs up
November 26, 2012 - 8:25 am
According to the credit requirements, science labs are subject to the pressurization requirement and must have fans to exhaust the space but separate air handling units are not required. You should be able to achieve the pressurization through whatever means you chose as long as you can show that the exhaust is sufficient enough to to meet the required .50 cfm exhaust rate and the 5 Pa pressurization differential. Hypothetically, depending on the size of the room and power of the fume hood, you may be able to meet it with fume hoods, but the reviewer would have to be satisfied that fume hoods would be used whenever chemical mixing occurs.