Highlights
An asset efficiency audit was conducted across 16 fume hoods in the Green Earth Sciences research building.
Sashimi sensors tracked utilization and sash movement over a continuous 5-month period to distinguish between underused, semi-underused, and active fume hoods.
Identified that 56% of the monitored infrastructure was underutilized or semi-underutilized.
Abstract
While fume hood energy management often focuses on user behavior (closing the sash), a significant source of waste arises from "underutilized" equipment—hoods that remain fully operational and connected to building exhaust systems despite rare usage. This case study details an asset efficiency audit conducted within a Green Earth Sciences building at a large private research university. Over a continuous five-month period, Sashimi IoT sensors monitored 16 VAV fume hoods to quantify utilization rates based on sash movement frequency. Although baseline sash behavior in the facility was satisfactory, the granular data revealed a structural inefficiency: 25% of the units were "underused" (used once or fewer), and 31% were "semi-underused" (used fewer than 10 times). In total, 56% of the monitored infrastructure was identified as viable candidates for mechanical hibernation or equipment sharing. By identifying these opportunities to decommission unnecessary airflow capacity, the study demonstrates that rightsizing infrastructure to match actual research demand is a critical strategy for decarbonization.
The full case study can be downloaded below.
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