Ruiwen Zou , Wei Zhang , Jiahong Guo , Xiding Zeng , Kun Yang , Zhangyu Li , Xuhong Wang
{"title":"Energy efficiency analysis and life cycle assessment of a biosafety level 4 laboratory","authors":"Ruiwen Zou , Wei Zhang , Jiahong Guo , Xiding Zeng , Kun Yang , Zhangyu Li , Xuhong Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116096","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In recent years, the global threat of infectious diseases has prompted countries to increase the construction of high-level biosafety laboratories (BSLs). However, the high energy consumption in the operation of biosafety laboratories leads to their low utilization rate. In this study, a biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory in Southwest China was used for energy optimization while ensuring safety. It was found that the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system in a BSL-4 laboratory consumes 4.3 times more energy than in a standard office. Energy savings of 36 % and 35 % could be achieved by reducing the number of air changes and performing heat recovery of exhaust gases, respectively. In addition, a complete Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) model was developed and it was found that the operational stage had the highest environmental impact of 48 %. As a result, it was proposed to perform a high-low interaction strategy that saves 25 %–28 % of energy and reduces carbon emissions by 24–27 tons per year; after optimizing renewable energy sources, the energy payback time and greenhouse gas payback time of the BSL-4 laboratory are 9.2 and 6.1 years, respectively. The study’s life cycle assessment modeling and recommended energy savings scenarios contribute to efficient energy design and operation at BSL.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"345 ","pages":"Article 116096"},"PeriodicalIF":6.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Energy and Buildings","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378778825008266","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CONSTRUCTION & BUILDING TECHNOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In recent years, the global threat of infectious diseases has prompted countries to increase the construction of high-level biosafety laboratories (BSLs). However, the high energy consumption in the operation of biosafety laboratories leads to their low utilization rate. In this study, a biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory in Southwest China was used for energy optimization while ensuring safety. It was found that the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system in a BSL-4 laboratory consumes 4.3 times more energy than in a standard office. Energy savings of 36 % and 35 % could be achieved by reducing the number of air changes and performing heat recovery of exhaust gases, respectively. In addition, a complete Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) model was developed and it was found that the operational stage had the highest environmental impact of 48 %. As a result, it was proposed to perform a high-low interaction strategy that saves 25 %–28 % of energy and reduces carbon emissions by 24–27 tons per year; after optimizing renewable energy sources, the energy payback time and greenhouse gas payback time of the BSL-4 laboratory are 9.2 and 6.1 years, respectively. The study’s life cycle assessment modeling and recommended energy savings scenarios contribute to efficient energy design and operation at BSL.
期刊介绍:
An international journal devoted to investigations of energy use and efficiency in buildings
Energy and Buildings is an international journal publishing articles with explicit links to energy use in buildings. The aim is to present new research results, and new proven practice aimed at reducing the energy needs of a building and improving indoor environment quality.