Shut the Sash Alarms
are as simple as they sound.
Shut the Sash Alarms provide gentle reminders to lab users that lead to good sash management habits.
Alarms beep softly when a hood has been left unattended and open for several minutes, which reminds lab users to shut the sash. Alarms plug into the outlet on the front of hoods and can be installed by anyone in 30 seconds.
This publication in Nature Reports found that alarms save an average of $1,159 in energy, per hood, per year.
Case study of 48 alarms
■ Average CFM of hood without alarm ● Average CFM of hood with alarm
Average airflow of 48 fume hoods in a large building, measured in cubic feet per minute (CFM)
Building average without alarms
342 CFM
Building average with alarms
273 CFM
Difference
– 69 CFM (21%)
10-year energy savings
$556,320 USD
From energy savings alone, Shut the Sash Alarms pay for themselves in months.
Current solutions waste staff time or are too expensive.
Educating lab users isn’t enough.
If you have enough staff-time to maintain constant communications, sash management education and engagement programs work to an extent. But most programs don’t leave a lasting impact. After engagement campaigns end, average sash height creeps back up towards pre-program levels.
Shut the Sash Alarms have been shown to be more effective than engagement programs in the short-term, and the impact of alarms persists long after emails cease.
Sash closers cost 10x the money and often disrupt research.
Automatic fume hood sash closers cost $5,500+ over their lifetime. Requiring involved installation that disrupts research, sash closers are effective yet costly. And, some closers shut hoods at inconvenient times, including on lab users while they’re still working at hoods.
Shut the Sash Alarms have the same efficacy as sash closers but are over 10 times cheaper, paying for themselves in energy savings in months.