Development of a Fan-Filter Unit Test Standard, LaboratoryValidations, and its Applications across Industries

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) is now finalizing the Phase 2 Research and Demonstration Project on characterizing 2-foot x 4-foot (61-cm x 122-cm) fan-filter units in the market using the first-ever standard laboratory test method developed at LBNL.[1][2][3] Fan-filter units deliver re-circulated air and provide particle filtration control for clean environments. Much of the energy in cleanrooms (and minienvironments) is consumed by 2-foot x 4-foot (61-cm x 122-cm) or 4-foot x 4-foot (122-cm x 122-cm) fan-filter units that are typically located in the ceiling (25-100% coverage) of cleanroom controlled environments. Thanks to funding support by the California Energy Commission's Industrial Program of the Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program, and significant participation from manufacturers and users of fan-filter units from around the world, LBNL has developed and performed a series of standard laboratory tests and reporting on a variety of 2-foot x 4-foot (61-cm x 122-cm) fan-filter units (FFUs). Standard laboratory testing reports have been completed and reported back to anonymous individual participants in this project. To date, such reports on standard testing of FFU performance have provided rigorous and useful data for suppliers and end users to better understand, and more importantly, to quantitatively characterize performance of FFU products under a variety of operating conditions.[1] In the course of the project, the standard laboratory method previously developed at LBNL has been under continuous evaluation and update.[2][3] Based upon the updated standard, it becomes feasible for users and suppliers to characterize and evaluate energy performance of FFUs in a consistent way

Performance Evaluation for Modular, Scalable Liquid-Rack Cooling Systems in Data Centers

Scientific and enterprise data centers, IT equipment product development, and research data center laboratories typically require continuous cooling to control inlet air temperatures within recommended operating levels for the IT equipment. The consolidation and higher density aggregation of slim computing, storage and networking hardware has resulted in higher power density than what the raised-floor system design, coupled with commonly used computer rack air conditioning (CRAC) units, was originally conceived to handle. Many existing data centers and newly constructed data centers adopt CRAC units, which inherently handle heat transfer within data centers via air as the heat transfer media. This results in energy performance of the ventilation and cooling systems being less than optimal. Understanding the current trends toward higher power density in IT computing, more and more IT equipment manufacturers are designing their equipment to operate in 'conventional' data center environments, while considering provisions of alternative cooling solutions to either their equipment or supplemental cooling in rack or row systems. In the meanwhile, the trend toward higher power density resulting from current and future generations of servers has created significant opportunities for precision cooling suppliers to engineer and manufacture packaged modular and scalable systems. The modular and scalable cooling systems aim at significantly improving efficiency while addressing the thermal challenges, improving reliability, and allowing for future needs and growth. Such pre-engineered and manufactured systems may be a significant improvement over current design; however, without an energy efficiency focus, their applications could also lead to even lower energy efficiencies in the overall data center infrastructure. The overall goal of the project supported by California Energy Commission was to characterize four commercially available, modular cooling systems installed in a data center. Such modular cooling systems are all scalable localized units, and will be evaluated in terms of their operating energy efficiency in a real data center, respectively, as compared to the energy efficiency of traditional legacy data center cooling systems. The technical objective of this project was to evaluate the energy performance of one of the four commercially available modular cooling systems installed in a data center in Sun Microsystems, Inc. This report is the result of a test plan that was developed with the industrial participants input, including specific design and operating characteristics of the selected modular localized cooling solution provided by vendor 3. The technical evaluation included monitoring and measurement of selected parameters, and establishing and calculating energy efficiency metrics for the selected cooling product, which is a modular, scalable liquid-rack cooling system in this study. The scope is to quantify energy performance of the modular cooling unit in operation as it corresponds to a combination of varied server loads and inlet air temperatures, under various chilled-water supply temperatures. The information generated from this testing when combined with documented energy efficiency of the host data center's central chilled water cooling plant can be used to estimate potential energy savings from implementing modular cooling compared to conventional cooling in data centers

Considerations for Efficient Airflow Design in Cleanrooms

A high-performance cleanroom should provide efficient energy performance in addition to effective contamination control. Energy-efficient designs can yield capital and operational cost savings, and can be part of a strategy to improve productivity in the cleanroom industry. Based upon in-situ measurement data from ISO Class 5 clean rooms, this article discusses key factors affecting cleanroom air system performance and benefits of efficient airflow design in clean rooms. Cleanroom HVAC systems used in the semiconductor, pharmaceutical, and healthcare industries are very energy intensive, requiring large volumes of cleaned air to remove or dilute contaminants for satisfactory operations. There is a tendency, however, to design excessive airflow rates into cleanroom HVAC systems, due to factors such as design conservatism, lack of thorough understanding of airflow requirements, concerns about cleanliness reliability, and potential design and operational liabilities. Energy use of cleanroom environmental systems varies with system type and design, cleanroom functions, and the control of critical parameters such as temperature and humidity. In particular, cleanroom cleanliness requirements specified by cleanliness class have an impact on overall energy use. A previous study covering Europe and the US reveals annual cleanroom electricity usage for cooling and fan energy varies significantly depending on cleanliness class, and may account for up to three-quarters of total annual operating costs. A study on a semiconductor cleanroom in Japan found air delivery systems account for more than 30% of total power consumption. It is evident that the main factors dictating cleanroom operation energy include airflow rates and HVAC system efficiency. Improving energy efficiency in clean rooms may potentially contribute to significant savings in the initial costs of the facilities as well as operation and maintenance costs. For example, energy consumption by a typical chip manufacturer can be cut 40% or more, and the associated greenhouse emissions even more. Cleanroom HVAC systems provide huge opportunities for energy savings in the semiconductor industry. In addition to direct cost reductions in cleanroom investment and operation, energy-efficient designs can reduce maintenance costs, increase power reliability, improve time-to-market in cleanroom production, and improve environmental quality. Companies that use energy efficiency to lower costs and increase productivity can gain a competitive advantage and achieve a higher return on investment. In addition, energy-efficient cleanroom systems conserve energy and natural resources, heightening the company's reputation as an environmentally conscious leader in the community and the industry. A significant portion of energy use in cleanroom environmental systems is associated with recirculating air systems. We will review and analyze design factors and operational performance of airflow systems in ISO Class 5 clean rooms. We will also discuss benefits of efficient cleanroom airflow designs in conjunction with effective cleanroom contamination control. We will consider the following common recirculating air system designs: fan-tower (FT) with pressurized-plenum; distributed air handler unit (AHU); and fan-filter unit (FFU)

An Innovative Method for Dynamic Characterization of Fan Filter Unit Operation

Abstract Fan filter units (FFU) are widely used to deliver re-circulated air while providing filtration control of particle concentration in controlled environments such as cleanrooms, minienvironments, and operating rooms in hospitals. The objective of this paper is to document an innovative method for characterizing operation and control of an individual fan filter unit within its operable conditions. Built upon the draft laboratory method previously published [1] , this paper presents an updated method including a testing procedure to characterize dynamic operation of fan filter units, i.e., steady-state operation conditions determined by varied control schemes, airflow rates, and pressure differential across the units. The parameters for dynamic characterization include total electric power demand, total pressure efficiency, airflow rate, pressure differential across fan filter units, and airflow uniformity

Developing Information on Energy Savings and Associated Costs and Benefits of Energy Efficient Emerging Technologies Applicable in California

Implementation and adoption of efficient end-use technologies have proven to be one of the key measures for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout the industries. In many cases, implementing energy efficiency measures is among one of the most cost effective investments that the industry could make in improving efficiency and productivity while reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Over the years, there have been incentives to use resources and energy in a cleaner and more efficient way to create industries that are sustainable and more productive. With the working of energy programs and policies on GHG inventory and regulation, understanding and managing the costs associated with mitigation measures for GHG reductions is very important for the industry and policy makers around the world and in California. Successful implementation of applicable emerging technologies not only may help advance productivities, improve environmental impacts, or enhance industrial competitiveness, but also can play a significant role in climate-mitigation efforts by saving energy and reducing the associated GHG emissions. Developing new information on costs and savings benefits of energy efficient emerging technologies applicable in California market is important for policy makers as well as the industries. Therefore, provision of timely evaluation and estimation of the costs and energy savings potential of emerging technologies applicable to California is the focus of this report. The overall goal of the project is to identify and select a set of emerging and under-utilized energy-efficient technologies and practices as they are important to reduce energy consumption in industry while maintaining economic growth. Specifically, this report contains the results from performing Task 3 Technology Characterization for California Industries for the project titled Research Opportunities in Emerging and Under-Utilized Energy-Efficient Industrial Technologies, sponsored by California Energy Commission (CEC) and managed by California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE). The project purpose is to characterize energy savings, technology costs, market potential, and economic viability of newly selected technologies applicable to California. In this report, LBNL first performed technology reviews to identify new or under-utilized technologies that could offer potential in improving energy efficiency and additional benefits to California industries as well as in the U.S. industries, followed by detailed technology assessment on each targeted technology, with a focus on California applications. A total of eleven emerging or underutilized technologies applicable to California were selected and characterized with detailed information in this report. The outcomes essentially include a multi-page summary profile for each of the 11 emerging or underutilized technologies applicable to California industries, based on the formats used in the technology characterization reports (Xu et al. 2010; Martin et al. 2000)

Laboratory Evaluation of Fan-Filter Units' Aerodynamic and Energy Performance

The paper discusses the benefits of having a consistent testing method to characterize aerodynamic and energy performance of FFUs. It presents evaluation methods of laboratory-measured performance of ten relatively new, 1220 mm x 610 mm (or 4 ft x 2 ft) fan-filter units (FFUs), and includes results of a set of relevant metrics such as energy performance indices (EPI) based upon the sample FFUs tested. This paper concludes that there are variations in FFUs' performance, and that using a consistent testing and evaluation method can generate compatible and comparable FFU performance information. The paper also suggests that benefits and opportunities exist for our method of testing FFU energy performance to be integrated in future recommended practices

New Challenges in Contamination Control: The Leadership Role ofIEST in Shaping Future Research and Practices.

A leading industrial standards writing organization since 1953, IEST has established seven tracks of Recommended Practices (RP) in the Standards and Practices (S&P) portion of the Contamination Control (CC) program, including the most recent program in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. In addition, there are other parallel activities in IEST's Design, Test, and Evaluation and Product Reliability division. Within each of these programs, scientists, engineers, and contamination control professionals from all over the world interact closely in working group meetings, seminars, and tutorials. Together they have developed, published, and disseminated technical information and industrial standards, including RPs, Reference Documents (RDs), and ISO Standards to address ever evolving challenges in contamination control and sustainable development of the industries served by IEST. The series of Standards, RPs, and RDs are developed through years of discussion, deliberation and review thus providing peer-reviewed best practices, standardized procedures and test methods to furnish guidance and address problems in contamination control. In general, IEST's procedures for the development of Standards, RPs, or RDs are in accordance with its status as an ANSI-accredited Standards Developer Organization (SDO). Specifically, RPs and RDs are formulated by IEST Working Groups (WGs) through a cooperative exchange of knowledge, experience and ideas that culminate in useful and timely information invaluable to all that avail themselves of this knowledge. These documents are reviewed every three years so that new knowledge, information, and methods may be integrated into them in a timely manner. All WG member contributions are provided by professionals on a volunteer basis. There are increasing challenges associated with keeping up with new knowledge requirements. However, IEST has successfully relied on ever-evolving leadership and concerted efforts by numerous volunteers to develop, revise, and publish new documents at a faster pace than had been seen in recent decades. For example, eight updated revisions of existing or brand new RPs have been published since 2005 (marked as yellow), and approximately seven more RPs and RDs are well positioned in the pipeline for official publication by early 2007 (marked as green). Due to their quality and timeliness, many IEST RPs are primary references and sources of information for compliance with the ISO 14644 series of International Standards developed by ISO Technical Committee (ISO/TC) 209, Cleanrooms and associated controlled environments. Additionally, IEST conducts technical seminars, workshops, and tutorials at its annual technical meeting (ESTECH), its Fall Conference, and online to assist related industries to better understand the 'state-of-the art' philosophies and effectively utilize IEST Recommended Practices and ISO Standards. Being the leading organization and a voting member of the ANSI-accredited US Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to ISO/TC 229, Nanotechnologies, IEST is in a unique position to contribute its expertise in developing international standards for controlled environments to anticipate the unique needs of the emerging nanoscience/nanotechnology industry. For example, the IEST has formulated a new program to address the complex issues relevant to all industries working in this area and includes nanoparticles, other relevant contamination control 2 issues, and building facilities to conduct research and produce products related to nanotechnology. Leading industry experts in this area have been gathering at IEST conferences since the Fall Conference in 2005 and are working diligently on a first-ever industry road map and subsequent RPs the IEST Recommended Practices NANO200 series. The first document titled 'Planning, Design, Construction & Operations Considerations for Facilities Engaged in Research or Production at the Nanometer Scale' is, as mentioned earlier, the 'road map document' for all industries building facilities to perform research and manufacturing at nanoscale levels. The document is scheduled for publication latter part of 2007. IEST leaders are continually embracing new challenges and taking advantage of new opportunities to lead the way in the development of ground-breaking documents. We invite you to join in and participate in the relevant WGs, whether you are from the industrial sector or from academia. To increase your knowledge of the constantly evolving issues of the contamination control industry, you will want to purchase all of the recent versions of these documents and become an active part of the organization. For further information, please visit www.iest.org

Quantify the energy and environmental benefits of implementing energy-efficiency measures in China’s iron and steel production

As one of the most energy-, emission- and pollution-intensive industries, iron and steel production is responsible for significant emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollutants. Although many energy-efficiency measures have been proposed by the Chinese government to mitigate GHG emissions and to improve air quality, lacking full understanding of the costs and benefits has created barriers against implementing these measures widely. This paper sets out to advance the understanding by addressing the knowledge gap in costs, benefits, and costeffectiveness of energy-efficiency measures in iron and steel production. Specifically, we build a new evaluation framework to quantify energy benefits and environmental benefits (i.e., CO2 emission reduction, air-pollutants emission reduction and water savings) associated with 36 energy-efficiency measures. Results show that inclusion of benefits from CO2 and air-pollutants emission reduction affects the cost-effectiveness of energy-efficiency measures significantly, while impacts from water-savings benefits are moderate but notable when compared to the effects by considering energy benefits alone. The new information resulted from this study should be used to augment future programs and efforts in reducing energy use and environmental impacts associated with steel production