Designing Safe Laboratories and Research Facilities: Electrical, Power, and Lighting

CSE: What are some key differences in electrical, lighting, and power systems you might incorporate in one of these laboratory or research facilities, as compared with other projects? Matthews: The concentrated density and level of resiliency required for laboratory electrical systems can best be compared to the marriage of a hospital and a data center. We have designed many facilities that are fully protected with emergency generators, completely equipped with LED lighting, and with all equipment fed from the uninterruptible power system (UPS). Hombsch: Greater overall flexibility is needed for these facilities. Electrical needs may require multiple voltages and/or frequencies available to users. Lighting technologies will differ depending on testing performed. The move toward computational labs requires more capacity than typical wet labs. Handziuk: Within a high-containment lab we would consider emergency power distribution across the full building. Past studies have shown this layout to be more cost-effective relative to normal power/emergency power distribution when greater than 60% of the building load serves high-containment systems. The other element is to have the full BAS on a UPS. While we must prove fail-safe operations, the UPS is more operational in nature and lessens system reboot time; this allows for a quicker return to operations. Finally, we typically recommend a closed automatic transfer switch (ATS) where allowed; this allows for sustained operations during the transition from generator to normal power supply. CSE: How does your team work with the architect, owner, and other project team members so the electrical/power systems are flexible and sustainable? Handziuk: Within a high-containment lab, power and data conduit is typically embedded in concrete. We do oversize conduit to accommodate additional feeders. The penetrations are typically built with machined compression fittings or potted connectors to allow for removal and replacement such that the integrity of the seal is restored. Hombsch: We review existing lab spaces to get a sense of the current state. Then we review future growth plans to make sure infrastructure is available either in the form of capacity or installed devices. CSE: Are you seeing more smart grid or microgrid aspects on such projects? If so, how have you served these needs? Hombsch: We are seeing more smart grid than microgrid on recent projects. Smart grid is typically achieved through the utility with a demand-response relay. CSE: Are there any issues unique to designing electrical systems for these types of facilities? Please describe. Hombsch: Care must be taken to not interrupt important processes or research projects. Owner equipment comes in a variety of plug configurations, and steadfast attention is paid throughout the project to minimize change orders. Coordinating hazardous location boundaries, equipment, and connects is important. Kerry's new Global Technology & Innovation Centre consolidates product research and development operations from several Asia Pacific satellite locations for the company's ingredients and flavors division. This centralization serves to improve recruitment andincrease resource sharing. Courtesy: CI&A Photography CSE: What types of unusual standby, emergency, or backup power systems have you specified for such facilities? What were the project goals? Handziuk: The most unusual standby power system we've designed from my perspective is diesel rotary uninterruptible power supply (DRUPS) to a high-containment facility in the UK. The requirement for a DRUPS was two-fold. One was to ensure stable voltage and the other to minimize power outages and preserve continuity of operations. While the lab must be proven fail-safe, power interruptions in this jurisdiction were frequent enough to warrant a series of DRUPS units in parallel to serve the full facility. Hombsch: Generators and UPS systems are the most commonly used approaches. CSE: What are some of the challenges when designing electrical, power, and lighting for such projects? Hombsch: Proper ratings and future flexibility are the guiding principles. Important challenges include taking into account any hazardous ratings followed by environmental conditions, adequate capacity, specialty fixtures, and user interface. CSE: What kind of lighting designs have you incorporated into such a project, either for energy efficiency or to increase the occupant's experience? Discuss the use of LEDs or other updated light sources. Matthews: All our laboratory projects designed since 2016 have specified 100% LED lighting. This has required our electrical engineers to work closely with lighting manufacturers to best match their products with owners' needs and requirements. The selection of LED lighting is also highly coordinated with our architectural partners to best fit the type and layout of benching casework to properly illuminate the benchtop work surface. We control the LED lighting with multilevel switching, automated scheduling, or occupancy sensors, depending on the lab operations. Hombsch: LED is now the most commonly used fixture type. If daylight is available, one or two zones of dimming are used. Direct/indirect LEDs are more consistent in their performance. Special attention should still be paid to color-rendering capabilities. CSE: When designing lighting systems for these types of structures, what design factors are building owners asking for? Are there any particular technical advantages that need to be considered? Hombsch: Maintainability is still a big consideration. Cleaning lenses, replacing drivers, relocating fixtures, etc. are all pertinent factors in project designs. Matthews: Beyond the obvious energy savings from LED lighting, owners' requests to minimize disruptions within lab spaces have led our team to only use LEDs due to the minimal amount of maintenance that is required over the lifetime of the light fixture. The combination of energy and maintenance savings have resulted in our typical lab-space lighting designs achieving a simple payback period of a few years or even less for 24/7 operations.

1. How to Create the Perfect Restaurant Patio

For restaurants that have a subpar outdoor dining area or do not have one at all, it can be an instant loss of customers or even a poor Yelp review. That's why restaurateurs are getting creative with designing and choosing their restaurant's outdoor seating options. Whether you have a backyard patio or a strip of sidewalk, you can turn your outdoor space into a source of income for your business. Offering outdoor seating opens up new avenues of revenue and opportunity for a restaurant. If you are looking to create a perfect restaurant patio, here are some tips on how to get started. Every state and municipality has different laws on what restaurants can serve, how they can serve it, when they can serve it, and where they can serve it. Some local laws prohibit outdoor bars while others require partitions or caf barriers around sidewalk seating. Educating yourself on local laws and obtaining permits sounds about as appetizing as a spam and prune salad, but it's a crucial part of the process. Punishments violating local laws and not having proper permits can range from a citation to fines or even closure. Before you start building your outdoor patio, research your local laws and be sure to obtain the proper permits. Your gut reaction may be to cram as many tables and chairs into your restaurant patio as you can. After all, more tables means more customers and more revenue, right? Not necessarily. Before expanding any seating area (indoors or outdoors), make sure your staff and kitchen can handle it. With the added seating, your servers may be putting more steps in on their Fitbits while your kitchen may be struggling to keep up with the lunchtime rush. If necessary, hire more help or expand your kitchen to accommodate the growth. Even if your restaurant staff can comfortably squeeze another twelve tables into their workload, those twelve tables may not fit so comfortably on your patio. Make sure you have ample space between tables and chairs for both servers and guests to maneuver through your restaurant's outdoor seating struggle free. While it may seem like the easy and economical solution, do not reuse your interior table and chairs for your patio. Your restaurant's outdoor dining space needs furniture made of durable materials that can hold up to the wear and tear of the outdoors. Look for furniture that's weatherproof and easy to clean. If space and storage is an issue, opt for stackable chairs. Additionally, make sure your patio furniture jives with your restaurant's dcor and atmosphere. Having appropriate furniture that is well maintained is just as important for operations as it is for your restaurant's image. In other words, if you run a high-end restaurant, you may want to reconsider outfitting your patio with foldable plastic chairs - or at the very least fashion them with stylish covers. Unless you possess some mystical ability to conjure sunlight, you will need lighting for your patio if it stays open after sunset. Tea lights, Chinese lanterns, string lights, fairy lights, tiki torches, candles, etc. are great options for lighting and also help with your patio's ambience. Make sure your customers can easily read your menu options by using illuminated menus and boards with LED lighting. When serving outdoors, you have to be prepared for whatever Mother Nature has in store. From ways to keep bugs away to giving your patio some shade to keeping your diners warm, read our tips and tricks for protecting your restaurant patio area from the elements. Unlike sidewalk seating, outdoor dining areas like patios, decks, and rooftops are not as easily seen by passersby. Grab the attention of prospective diners with attractive signage, lighting, and dcor to highlight your outdoor seating options. Take your awareness campaign to social media, too: post your daily specials and even pictures of your restaurant patio to boost your customer base. Good restaurant patios have these basics and essentials mastered, but great restaurant patios take it a step further. Give your outdoor seating a personal touch to distinguish yourself in the market. Enhance your diners' experience with food and bar specials, live music, yard games, outdoor grill, portable outdoor bar, etc. A restaurant patio that's well planned, unique, and full of character can quickly turn those one-time customers into regulars and boost profitability.

2. I have t9 flourescent bulbs, what ballasts can I use?

T9 is a very odd size. Switch to T8 -- it's very common. If you could find T9 ballasts, they would probably cost more than a T8 ballast plus T8 tubes. The sockets are probably identical.Better yet, look into replacing them with LED lighting. You can get retrofit LED tubes that fit fluorescent fixtures, and the cost probably is not much different than new ballasts and tubes.

3. is led lighting any good for fish tank?

Those cheap LEDs have no where near enough power for a planted or marine tank. While they are OK for a small non-planted freshwater tank, where you just want something so you can see the fish better. You can buy large LED arrays that do have the power to replace fluorescent lamps, but those are NOT cheap. I will do no harm to buy one and use it, but it will probably on be 1/10 the brightness of your current lamp Ian