What is the best solution for microscopy room cooling?

[Oliver Biehlmaier-2]

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Dear all,

Around the end of 2018 our light microscopy facility will move into a new building. Even though the date of the move is still quite far in the future, I have to provide the planners with numbers. Whereas the number of electronic and internet plugs as well as IT connection speed etc is no problem, it seems to be quite difficult to find an adequate solution for room cooling / air conditioning.
I searched the list for the topic and only found a thread from 2009. As this is a quite important issue for any microscopy facility, I’d like to take the opportunity to ask for some feedback and if possible images of your solutions. All comments on what to do and what definitely not to do are very welcome!

The new Biozentrum building will be a low-energy-consumption building (Minergie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minergie) which means that there will only be a minimal exchange of air in the rooms.
The new rooms will be approx. 20sqm large (215 square foot) and I am planning to put 3 systems max. into each room. A confocal with an argon laser generates approx. 4kW, so in a worst case scenario we will have to be able to cope with 12kW/room. Referring to this calculation, I told the planners that we will need 15kW of cooling capacity per microscope room.

So far the planners offered 2 solutions for cooling:

1) the conventional convection cooling solution:  3 big boxes at the ceiling, each with a center inlet and 4 surrounding lamellar outlets
=> very loud, cool air “falling down”, difficult to reach homogeneous temperature distribution.

2) a more sophisticated version: based on roller-type fans with long textile tube outlets
This solution can be combined with a diffusor covering the entire room ceiling thereby providing a more homogeneous air distribution and less noise.
However, to accomplish this, we will have to agree to a room height of 230cm (7.55ft). Except for our 2PH system this should not be a problem.
I think that solution 2) could be a reasonable solution.

Please let me know how you solved your room cooling, especially in relation to low-energy-consumption buildings with little air volume exchange.

Cheers,
Oliver


Oliver Biehlmaier, PhD | Head of Imaging Core Facility  | Biozentrum, University of Basel | Klingelbergstrasse 50/70 | CH-4056 Basel
Phone: [phone] | Email: [hidden email] | www.biozentrum.unibas.ch | www.microscopynetwork.unibas.ch

[Craig Brideau]

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If you have access to chilled water in your building, you can use heat
pumps to draw heat from the room and dump it into the water flow. Just make
sure the chilled water loop has sufficient capacity to not get overwhelmed.
Water is always a better heat exchange medium if you can get access to it.

Craig Brideau

On Wed, Oct 1, 2014 at 10:03 AM, Oliver Biehlmaier <
[hidden email]> wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Dear all,
>
> Around the end of 2018 our light microscopy facility will move into a new
> building. Even though the date of the move is still quite far in the
> future, I have to provide the planners with numbers. Whereas the number of
> electronic and internet plugs as well as IT connection speed etc is no
> problem, it seems to be quite difficult to find an adequate solution for
> room cooling / air conditioning.
> I searched the list for the topic and only found a thread from 2009. As
> this is a quite important issue for any microscopy facility, I’d like to
> take the opportunity to ask for some feedback and if possible images of
> your solutions. All comments on what to do and what definitely not to do
> are very welcome!
>
> The new Biozentrum building will be a low-energy-consumption building
> (Minergie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minergie) which means that there
> will only be a minimal exchange of air in the rooms.
> The new rooms will be approx. 20sqm large (215 square foot) and I am
> planning to put 3 systems max. into each room. A confocal with an argon
> laser generates approx. 4kW, so in a worst case scenario we will have to be
> able to cope with 12kW/room. Referring to this calculation, I told the
> planners that we will need 15kW of cooling capacity per microscope room.
>
> So far the planners offered 2 solutions for cooling:
>
> 1) the conventional convection cooling solution:  3 big boxes at the
> ceiling, each with a center inlet and 4 surrounding lamellar outlets
> => very loud, cool air “falling down”, difficult to reach homogeneous
> temperature distribution.
>
> 2) a more sophisticated version: based on roller-type fans with long
> textile tube outlets
> This solution can be combined with a diffusor covering the entire room
> ceiling thereby providing a more homogeneous air distribution and less
> noise.
> However, to accomplish this, we will have to agree to a room height of
> 230cm (7.55ft). Except for our 2PH system this should not be a problem.
> I think that solution 2) could be a reasonable solution.
>
> Please let me know how you solved your room cooling, especially in
> relation to low-energy-consumption buildings with little air volume
> exchange.
>
> Cheers,
> Oliver
>
>
> Oliver Biehlmaier, PhD | Head of Imaging Core Facility  | Biozentrum,
> University of Basel | Klingelbergstrasse 50/70 | CH-4056 Basel
> Phone: [phone] | Email: [hidden email] |
> www.biozentrum.unibas.ch | www.microscopynetwork.unibas.ch
>

[Smith, Benjamin E.]

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Our room has 3 microscopes (2 confocals and one SIM) and 2 computer work stations.  We have cool air coming in form above, which alone kept the room at 71.0oF +/- 1.5oF.  To reduce the temperature oscillations more (which can cause the optics to creep out of alignment) we added two floor HEPA filters that pull air in from the sides and blow it up.  This was a win-win, because they've reduced the dust load in the air but also continuously push the cool air back up, keeping the room at precisely 72.0oF +/- 0.3oF (we also have a datalogger to continuously monitor temperature swings).  Another consideration is to also be sure to keep humidity between 20 and 60%.

Cheers,
   Ben Smith
________________________________________
From: Confocal Microscopy List [[hidden email]] on behalf of Oliver Biehlmaier [[hidden email]]
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2014 11:03 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: What is the best solution for microscopy room cooling?

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Dear all,

Around the end of 2018 our light microscopy facility will move into a new building. Even though the date of the move is still quite far in the future, I have to provide the planners with numbers. Whereas the number of electronic and internet plugs as well as IT connection speed etc is no problem, it seems to be quite difficult to find an adequate solution for room cooling / air conditioning.
I searched the list for the topic and only found a thread from 2009. As this is a quite important issue for any microscopy facility, I’d like to take the opportunity to ask for some feedback and if possible images of your solutions. All comments on what to do and what definitely not to do are very welcome!

The new Biozentrum building will be a low-energy-consumption building (Minergie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minergie) which means that there will only be a minimal exchange of air in the rooms.
The new rooms will be approx. 20sqm large (215 square foot) and I am planning to put 3 systems max. into each room. A confocal with an argon laser generates approx. 4kW, so in a worst case scenario we will have to be able to cope with 12kW/room. Referring to this calculation, I told the planners that we will need 15kW of cooling capacity per microscope room.

So far the planners offered 2 solutions for cooling:

1) the conventional convection cooling solution:  3 big boxes at the ceiling, each with a center inlet and 4 surrounding lamellar outlets
=> very loud, cool air “falling down”, difficult to reach homogeneous temperature distribution.

2) a more sophisticated version: based on roller-type fans with long textile tube outlets
This solution can be combined with a diffusor covering the entire room ceiling thereby providing a more homogeneous air distribution and less noise.
However, to accomplish this, we will have to agree to a room height of 230cm (7.55ft). Except for our 2PH system this should not be a problem.
I think that solution 2) could be a reasonable solution.

Please let me know how you solved your room cooling, especially in relation to low-energy-consumption buildings with little air volume exchange.

Cheers,
Oliver


Oliver Biehlmaier, PhD | Head of Imaging Core Facility  | Biozentrum, University of Basel | Klingelbergstrasse 50/70 | CH-4056 Basel
Phone: [phone] | Email: [hidden email] | www.biozentrum.unibas.ch | www.microscopynetwork.unibas.ch

[Dan Focht]

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*****

Oliver

Yeah, that is a small room for three high end scopes!
Why can't you use a scavenger system or transfer the excess heat to another location or to water to be disposed of or recycled?
That would take the burden off of the main air handler system.
It would also reduce the amount of air movement in the room to a level that would have minimum effect on the scopes stability.

 Dan





On Oct 1, 2014, at 12:03 PM, Oliver Biehlmaier wrote:

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Dear all,

Around the end of 2018 our light microscopy facility will move into a new building. Even though the date of the move is still quite far in the future, I have to provide the planners with numbers. Whereas the number of electronic and internet plugs as well as IT connection speed etc is no problem, it seems to be quite difficult to find an adequate solution for room cooling / air conditioning.
I searched the list for the topic and only found a thread from 2009. As this is a quite important issue for any microscopy facility, I’d like to take the opportunity to ask for some feedback and if possible images of your solutions. All comments on what to do and what definitely not to do are very welcome!

The new Biozentrum building will be a low-energy-consumption building (Minergie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minergie) which means that there will only be a minimal exchange of air in the rooms.
The new rooms will be approx. 20sqm large (215 square foot) and I am planning to put 3 systems max. into each room. A confocal with an argon laser generates approx. 4kW, so in a worst case scenario we will have to be able to cope with 12kW/room. Referring to this calculation, I told the planners that we will need 15kW of cooling capacity per microscope room.

So far the planners offered 2 solutions for cooling:

1) the conventional convection cooling solution:  3 big boxes at the ceiling, each with a center inlet and 4 surrounding lamellar outlets
=> very loud, cool air “falling down”, difficult to reach homogeneous temperature distribution.

2) a more sophisticated version: based on roller-type fans with long textile tube outlets
This solution can be combined with a diffusor covering the entire room ceiling thereby providing a more homogeneous air distribution and less noise.
However, to accomplish this, we will have to agree to a room height of 230cm (7.55ft). Except for our 2PH system this should not be a problem.
I think that solution 2) could be a reasonable solution.

Please let me know how you solved your room cooling, especially in relation to low-energy-consumption buildings with little air volume exchange.

Cheers,
Oliver


Oliver Biehlmaier, PhD | Head of Imaging Core Facility  | Biozentrum, University of Basel | Klingelbergstrasse 50/70 | CH-4056 Basel
Phone: [phone] | Email: [hidden email] | www.biozentrum.unibas.ch | www.microscopynetwork.unibas.ch

Dan Focht
Bioptechs, Inc.
3560 Beck Rd.
Butler, PA 16002
www.bioptechs.com
P: [phone]
F: [phone]
[hidden email]

[Paul Rigby-2]

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Hi Oliver,
A few quick comments/suggestions:
1. I would try to dump the heat generated from your argon lasers directly to some other management system located outside the microscope room. This will reduced the noise and capacity required by any air conditioning system for just keeping the room temperature stable.
2. Make sure you specify to the planners what temperature stability is required from your microscopes. (+/- 1 degree C ?)
3. Make sure your air conditioning control is capable of running 24/7, especially if you are planning to do longer term time-lapse imaging.
4. Avoid air drafts directly onto your microscopes. Cool air inlet at ceiling height or warm air entering at floor height can cause considerable problems.
5. Specify humidity control, especially if using an IR multiphoton laser.
6. If you can, filter all air entering the room. This will help keep dust levels to a minimum.
7. Also calculate heat generation from humans that are likely to be in the room at any one time. This can be significant.
8. Avoid conditioning systems that switch on and off to control temperature - inverter systems will cause less temperature fluctuation problems.

Be fussy! Specify better control than you might really need, because you rarely get what you ask for. And it will make a difference down the track.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Paul

Assoc. Prof. Paul Rigby
Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation & Analysis (M510)
The University of Western Australia
35 Stirling Highway
Crawley  WA  6007
Australia


-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Oliver Biehlmaier
Sent: Thursday, 2 October 2014 12:03 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: What is the best solution for microscopy room cooling?

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Dear all,

Around the end of 2018 our light microscopy facility will move into a new building. Even though the date of the move is still quite far in the future, I have to provide the planners with numbers. Whereas the number of electronic and internet plugs as well as IT connection speed etc is no problem, it seems to be quite difficult to find an adequate solution for room cooling / air conditioning.
I searched the list for the topic and only found a thread from 2009. As this is a quite important issue for any microscopy facility, I'd like to take the opportunity to ask for some feedback and if possible images of your solutions. All comments on what to do and what definitely not to do are very welcome!

The new Biozentrum building will be a low-energy-consumption building (Minergie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minergie) which means that there will only be a minimal exchange of air in the rooms.
The new rooms will be approx. 20sqm large (215 square foot) and I am planning to put 3 systems max. into each room. A confocal with an argon laser generates approx. 4kW, so in a worst case scenario we will have to be able to cope with 12kW/room. Referring to this calculation, I told the planners that we will need 15kW of cooling capacity per microscope room.

So far the planners offered 2 solutions for cooling:

1) the conventional convection cooling solution:  3 big boxes at the ceiling, each with a center inlet and 4 surrounding lamellar outlets => very loud, cool air "falling down", difficult to reach homogeneous temperature distribution.

2) a more sophisticated version: based on roller-type fans with long textile tube outlets This solution can be combined with a diffusor covering the entire room ceiling thereby providing a more homogeneous air distribution and less noise.
However, to accomplish this, we will have to agree to a room height of 230cm (7.55ft). Except for our 2PH system this should not be a problem.
I think that solution 2) could be a reasonable solution.

Please let me know how you solved your room cooling, especially in relation to low-energy-consumption buildings with little air volume exchange.

Cheers,
Oliver


Oliver Biehlmaier, PhD | Head of Imaging Core Facility  | Biozentrum, University of Basel | Klingelbergstrasse 50/70 | CH-4056 Basel
Phone: [phone] | Email: [hidden email] | www.biozentrum.unibas.ch | www.microscopynetwork.unibas.ch

[Oliver Biehlmaier-2]

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To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
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*****

Dear Ben,
Thank you for this comment! Especially for super-resolution this is a good option.
How do these floor HEPA filter look like and how big are they?
Cheers,
Oliver




Oliver Biehlmaier, PhD | Head of Imaging Core Facility  | Biozentrum, University of Basel | Klingelbergstrasse 50/70 | CH-4056 Basel
Phone: [phone] | Email: [hidden email] | www.biozentrum.unibas.ch | www.microscopynetwork.unibas.ch




On 01 Oct 2014, at 20:05, Smith, Benjamin E. <[hidden email]> wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Our room has 3 microscopes (2 confocals and one SIM) and 2 computer work stations.  We have cool air coming in form above, which alone kept the room at 71.0oF +/- 1.5oF.  To reduce the temperature oscillations more (which can cause the optics to creep out of alignment) we added two floor HEPA filters that pull air in from the sides and blow it up.  This was a win-win, because they've reduced the dust load in the air but also continuously push the cool air back up, keeping the room at precisely 72.0oF +/- 0.3oF (we also have a datalogger to continuously monitor temperature swings).  Another consideration is to also be sure to keep humidity between 20 and 60%.
>
> Cheers,
>   Ben Smith
> ________________________________________
> From: Confocal Microscopy List [[hidden email]] on behalf of Oliver Biehlmaier [[hidden email]]
> Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2014 11:03 AM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: What is the best solution for microscopy room cooling?
>
> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Dear all,
>
> Around the end of 2018 our light microscopy facility will move into a new building. Even though the date of the move is still quite far in the future, I have to provide the planners with numbers. Whereas the number of electronic and internet plugs as well as IT connection speed etc is no problem, it seems to be quite difficult to find an adequate solution for room cooling / air conditioning.
> I searched the list for the topic and only found a thread from 2009. As this is a quite important issue for any microscopy facility, I’d like to take the opportunity to ask for some feedback and if possible images of your solutions. All comments on what to do and what definitely not to do are very welcome!
>
> The new Biozentrum building will be a low-energy-consumption building (Minergie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minergie) which means that there will only be a minimal exchange of air in the rooms.
> The new rooms will be approx. 20sqm large (215 square foot) and I am planning to put 3 systems max. into each room. A confocal with an argon laser generates approx. 4kW, so in a worst case scenario we will have to be able to cope with 12kW/room. Referring to this calculation, I told the planners that we will need 15kW of cooling capacity per microscope room.
>
> So far the planners offered 2 solutions for cooling:
>
> 1) the conventional convection cooling solution:  3 big boxes at the ceiling, each with a center inlet and 4 surrounding lamellar outlets
> => very loud, cool air “falling down”, difficult to reach homogeneous temperature distribution.
>
> 2) a more sophisticated version: based on roller-type fans with long textile tube outlets
> This solution can be combined with a diffusor covering the entire room ceiling thereby providing a more homogeneous air distribution and less noise.
> However, to accomplish this, we will have to agree to a room height of 230cm (7.55ft). Except for our 2PH system this should not be a problem.
> I think that solution 2) could be a reasonable solution.
>
> Please let me know how you solved your room cooling, especially in relation to low-energy-consumption buildings with little air volume exchange.
>
> Cheers,
> Oliver
>
>
> Oliver Biehlmaier, PhD | Head of Imaging Core Facility  | Biozentrum, University of Basel | Klingelbergstrasse 50/70 | CH-4056 Basel
> Phone: [phone] | Email: [hidden email] | www.biozentrum.unibas.ch | www.microscopynetwork.unibas.ch

[Oliver Biehlmaier-2]

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*****

Dear Paul,

Thanks that is a very helpful list.

> 1. I would try to dump the heat generated from your argon lasers directly to some other management system located outside the microscope room. This will reduced the noise and capacity required by any air conditioning system for just keeping the room temperature stable.
We do this in our actual facility rooms and we plan to have a direct exhaust/dump connected to systems that generate a lot of heat such as argon lasers, OMX-system, MP,…

> 2. Make sure you specify to the planners what temperature stability is required from your microscopes. (+/- 1 degree C ?)
I listed 23°C +/- 1° in bold basically on every sheet where I could put it. I try to get this binding for the planners. If we do not reach those specs they will have to adapt to a better version.

> 3. Make sure your air conditioning control is capable of running 24/7, especially if you are planning to do longer term time-lapse imaging.
That will be the case and I already asked for mobile/wireless temperature sensors for precise regulation.

> 4. Avoid air drafts directly onto your microscopes. Cool air inlet at ceiling height or warm air entering at floor height can cause considerable problems.
That’s why I am in favour of a diffusor based solution because then the air should be nicely distributed.

> 5. Specify humidity control, especially if using an IR multiphoton laser.
Good point. So far I did not include that to the part in BOLD letters. What would you recommend as humidity max.? 60%?

> 6. If you can, filter all air entering the room. This will help keep dust levels to a minimum.
Another point I will have to clarify...

> 7. Also calculate heat generation from humans that are likely to be in the room at any one time. This can be significant.
That is why I want an overhead in terms of cooling power. Also, it is often better to run higher power cooling systems at a constant low level than switching them on and off al the time. The latter generates terrible temp. oscillations, noise and cold air falling down.

> 8. Avoid conditioning systems that switch on and off to control temperature - inverter systems will cause less temperature fluctuation problems.
>
> Be fussy! Specify better control than you might really need, because you rarely get what you ask for. And it will make a difference down the track.

Totally agree!

Thanks again,
Oliver



Oliver Biehlmaier, PhD | Head of Imaging Core Facility  | Biozentrum, University of Basel | Klingelbergstrasse 50/70 | CH-4056 Basel
Phone: [phone] | Email: [hidden email] | www.biozentrum.unibas.ch | www.microscopynetwork.unibas.ch




On 02 Oct 2014, at 07:51, Paul Rigby <[hidden email]> wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Hi Oliver,
> A few quick comments/suggestions:
> 1. I would try to dump the heat generated from your argon lasers directly to some other management system located outside the microscope room. This will reduced the noise and capacity required by any air conditioning system for just keeping the room temperature stable.
> 2. Make sure you specify to the planners what temperature stability is required from your microscopes. (+/- 1 degree C ?)
> 3. Make sure your air conditioning control is capable of running 24/7, especially if you are planning to do longer term time-lapse imaging.
> 4. Avoid air drafts directly onto your microscopes. Cool air inlet at ceiling height or warm air entering at floor height can cause considerable problems.
> 5. Specify humidity control, especially if using an IR multiphoton laser.
> 6. If you can, filter all air entering the room. This will help keep dust levels to a minimum.
> 7. Also calculate heat generation from humans that are likely to be in the room at any one time. This can be significant.
> 8. Avoid conditioning systems that switch on and off to control temperature - inverter systems will cause less temperature fluctuation problems.
>
> Be fussy! Specify better control than you might really need, because you rarely get what you ask for. And it will make a difference down the track.
> Hope this helps.
> Cheers
> Paul
>
> Assoc. Prof. Paul Rigby
> Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation & Analysis (M510)
> The University of Western Australia
> 35 Stirling Highway
> Crawley  WA  6007
> Australia
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Oliver Biehlmaier
> Sent: Thursday, 2 October 2014 12:03 AM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: What is the best solution for microscopy room cooling?
>
> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Dear all,
>
> Around the end of 2018 our light microscopy facility will move into a new building. Even though the date of the move is still quite far in the future, I have to provide the planners with numbers. Whereas the number of electronic and internet plugs as well as IT connection speed etc is no problem, it seems to be quite difficult to find an adequate solution for room cooling / air conditioning.
> I searched the list for the topic and only found a thread from 2009. As this is a quite important issue for any microscopy facility, I'd like to take the opportunity to ask for some feedback and if possible images of your solutions. All comments on what to do and what definitely not to do are very welcome!
>
> The new Biozentrum building will be a low-energy-consumption building (Minergie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minergie) which means that there will only be a minimal exchange of air in the rooms.
> The new rooms will be approx. 20sqm large (215 square foot) and I am planning to put 3 systems max. into each room. A confocal with an argon laser generates approx. 4kW, so in a worst case scenario we will have to be able to cope with 12kW/room. Referring to this calculation, I told the planners that we will need 15kW of cooling capacity per microscope room.
>
> So far the planners offered 2 solutions for cooling:
>
> 1) the conventional convection cooling solution:  3 big boxes at the ceiling, each with a center inlet and 4 surrounding lamellar outlets => very loud, cool air "falling down", difficult to reach homogeneous temperature distribution.
>
> 2) a more sophisticated version: based on roller-type fans with long textile tube outlets This solution can be combined with a diffusor covering the entire room ceiling thereby providing a more homogeneous air distribution and less noise.
> However, to accomplish this, we will have to agree to a room height of 230cm (7.55ft). Except for our 2PH system this should not be a problem.
> I think that solution 2) could be a reasonable solution.
>
> Please let me know how you solved your room cooling, especially in relation to low-energy-consumption buildings with little air volume exchange.
>
> Cheers,
> Oliver
>
>
> Oliver Biehlmaier, PhD | Head of Imaging Core Facility  | Biozentrum, University of Basel | Klingelbergstrasse 50/70 | CH-4056 Basel
> Phone: [phone] | Email: [hidden email] | www.biozentrum.unibas.ch | www.microscopynetwork.unibas.ch

[Wolfgang Staroske]

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*****

Dear Oliver,

I would first consider the amount of heat you dissipate. Do you really
will have three confocals in each room ? This doesn't sound reasonable
to me. You will probably also have some WF and other systems with much
smaller heat generation. A clever combination of these systems should be
considered to get it at least down to 8kW. This still need a lot of air
ventilated through the room. We have usually one confocal and one other
system in 13sqm room.

From our experience a standard confocal (without two-photon) also
doesn't require a very precise temperature control.

We also considered your version 2) for our new building, because we had
very good experience with that in our EM facility. There the textile
tubes are along the side walls, close to the ground. Of course you loose
some room, but you get a very gentle air stream of cold air close to the
ground.

We were not allowed to use this solution for our LM facility due to
biological safety regulations. There is no way to disinfect a textile
tube, if somebody spills stuff over.

So our final solution: We have 1m high quarter cylinders in 2 or all 4
room corners, as cool air outlets. They are made from powder-coated steel.

One very important point to consider is a very good isolation of all
tubes/channels with cool water and air. Otherwise you will run into
serious problems with condensing water on humid summer days. Which will
drip onto your very precious instruments.

Bye Wolfgang




Am 01.10.2014 um 18:03 schrieb Oliver Biehlmaier:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=nfocalmicroscopy
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Dear all,
>
> Around the end of 2018 our light microscopy facility will move into a new building. Even though the date of the move is still quite far in the future, I have to provide the planners with numbers. Whereas the number of electronic and internet plugs as well as IT connection speed etc is no problem, it seems to be quite difficult to find an adequate solution for room cooling / air conditioning.
> I searched the list for the topic and only found a thread from 2009. As this is a quite important issue for any microscopy facility, I’d like to take the opportunity to ask for some feedback and if possible images of your solutions. All comments on what to do and what definitely not to do are very welcome!
>
> The new Biozentrum building will be a low-energy-consumption building (Minergie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minergie) which means that there will only be a minimal exchange of air in the rooms.
> The new rooms will be approx. 20sqm large (215 square foot) and I am planning to put 3 systems max. into each room. A confocal with an argon laser generates approx. 4kW, so in a worst case scenario we will have to be able to cope with 12kW/room. Referring to this calculation, I told the planners that we will need 15kW of cooling capacity per microscope room.
>
> So far the planners offered 2 solutions for cooling:
>
> 1) the conventional convection cooling solution:  3 big boxes at the ceiling, each with a center inlet and 4 surrounding lamellar outlets
> =very loud, cool air “falling down”, difficult to reach homogeneous temperature distribution.
>
> 2) a more sophisticated version: based on roller-type fans with long textile tube outlets
> This solution can be combined with a diffusor covering the entire room ceiling thereby providing a more homogeneous air distribution and less noise.
> However, to accomplish this, we will have to agree to a room height of 230cm (7.55ft). Except for our 2PH system this should not be a problem.
> I think that solution 2) could be a reasonable solution.
>
> Please let me know how you solved your room cooling, especially in relation to low-energy-consumption buildings with little air volume exchange.
>
> Cheers,
> Oliver
>
>
> Oliver Biehlmaier, PhD | Head of Imaging Core Facility  | Biozentrum, University of Basel | Klingelbergstrasse 50/70 | CH-4056 Basel
> Phone: [phone] | Email: [hidden email] | www.biozentrum.unibas.ch | www.microscopynetwork.unibas.ch
>

--
Dr. Wolfgang Staroske

Single Molecule Specialist
Light Microscopy Facility

Technische Universität Dresden
Biotechnology Center
Tatzberg 47/49
01307 Dresden, Germany

Tel.: [phone]
Fax.: [phone]
E-Mail: [hidden email]
Webpage: www.biotec.tu-dresden.de

[Smith, Benjamin E.]

*****
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Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

I had a few people ask for pictures and a better description of our microscope room cooling setup, so here is a bit more info.  We have two basket-style HEPA filters, one in the front of the room and one in the back.  These both provide additional air filtering, as well as continuously circulate the air in the room for better thermal stability:

Picture of front of room:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7pDqE0lTjQXT0hpdVBGNHlWcFU/edit?pli=1

The filter is on a foam block, because the room is in the low point of the basement and flooding is a concern.  There is also a dehumidifier by the sink to help back-up the dehumidifier in the air circulation system.  We also put a disposable air filter on the intake to the dehumidifier for additional dust abatement.  The grilles on the air inlets aim the air over the microscope, so the microscope is not in the direct airflow from the HVAC system

In the back of the room, we have the argon laser blower pump directly into the air return.  This prevents any local heating with the room, and has greatly improved thermal stability.

Picture of back of room:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7pDqE0lTjQXRVU5QlB3N2dQaW8/edit?pli=1

We also have two RH and temp monitors.  One shows the current RH and temperature as well as the min and max RH and temperature for the last 24 hours.  

Dataloggers:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7pDqE0lTjQXaFVCaU1vb2J0Yzg/edit?pli=1

This makes it easy to see if the temp or RH ever gets out of specs.  We also have a datalogger that records RH and temp every 30 seconds, so we can tell exactly when the conditions deviated, the nature of the deviation, etc.

Right now, this setup is keeping the room at 22.7oC +/- 0.1oC:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7pDqE0lTjQXbHVWU29JMTczX2c/edit?pli=1

And between 40% and 45% humidity despite being in a hot, southern climate:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7pDqE0lTjQXZU00XzY4cVZPUzg/edit?pli=1

You'll notice in the temp plot that at certain points there is greater variance.  This is when we have both confocals running at the same time with multiple people in the room.  Also, when we turn down the HEPA filters, we get greater thermal variance (although still well within +/- 0.5oC).

Hope this helps,
  Ben Smith

Benjamin E. Smith, Ph.D.
Samuel Roberts Noble Microscopy Laboratory
Research Scientist, Confocal Facility Manager
University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK 73019
E-mail: [hidden email]
Voice   405-325-4391
FAX  [phone]
http://www.microscopy.ou.edu/

________________________________________
From: Confocal Microscopy List [[hidden email]] on behalf of Wolfgang Staroske [[hidden email]]
Sent: Thursday, October 02, 2014 5:24 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: What is the best solution for microscopy room cooling?

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
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Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Dear Oliver,

I would first consider the amount of heat you dissipate. Do you really
will have three confocals in each room ? This doesn't sound reasonable
to me. You will probably also have some WF and other systems with much
smaller heat generation. A clever combination of these systems should be
considered to get it at least down to 8kW. This still need a lot of air
ventilated through the room. We have usually one confocal and one other
system in 13sqm room.

From our experience a standard confocal (without two-photon) also
doesn't require a very precise temperature control.

We also considered your version 2) for our new building, because we had
very good experience with that in our EM facility. There the textile
tubes are along the side walls, close to the ground. Of course you loose
some room, but you get a very gentle air stream of cold air close to the
ground.

We were not allowed to use this solution for our LM facility due to
biological safety regulations. There is no way to disinfect a textile
tube, if somebody spills stuff over.

So our final solution: We have 1m high quarter cylinders in 2 or all 4
room corners, as cool air outlets. They are made from powder-coated steel.

One very important point to consider is a very good isolation of all
tubes/channels with cool water and air. Otherwise you will run into
serious problems with condensing water on humid summer days. Which will
drip onto your very precious instruments.

Bye Wolfgang




Am 01.10.2014 um 18:03 schrieb Oliver Biehlmaier:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=nfocalmicroscopy
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Dear all,
>
> Around the end of 2018 our light microscopy facility will move into a new building. Even though the date of the move is still quite far in the future, I have to provide the planners with numbers. Whereas the number of electronic and internet plugs as well as IT connection speed etc is no problem, it seems to be quite difficult to find an adequate solution for room cooling / air conditioning.
> I searched the list for the topic and only found a thread from 2009. As this is a quite important issue for any microscopy facility, I’d like to take the opportunity to ask for some feedback and if possible images of your solutions. All comments on what to do and what definitely not to do are very welcome!
>
> The new Biozentrum building will be a low-energy-consumption building (Minergie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minergie) which means that there will only be a minimal exchange of air in the rooms.
> The new rooms will be approx. 20sqm large (215 square foot) and I am planning to put 3 systems max. into each room. A confocal with an argon laser generates approx. 4kW, so in a worst case scenario we will have to be able to cope with 12kW/room. Referring to this calculation, I told the planners that we will need 15kW of cooling capacity per microscope room.
>
> So far the planners offered 2 solutions for cooling:
>
> 1) the conventional convection cooling solution:  3 big boxes at the ceiling, each with a center inlet and 4 surrounding lamellar outlets
> =very loud, cool air “falling down”, difficult to reach homogeneous temperature distribution.
>
> 2) a more sophisticated version: based on roller-type fans with long textile tube outlets
> This solution can be combined with a diffusor covering the entire room ceiling thereby providing a more homogeneous air distribution and less noise.
> However, to accomplish this, we will have to agree to a room height of 230cm (7.55ft). Except for our 2PH system this should not be a problem.
> I think that solution 2) could be a reasonable solution.
>
> Please let me know how you solved your room cooling, especially in relation to low-energy-consumption buildings with little air volume exchange.
>
> Cheers,
> Oliver
>
>
> Oliver Biehlmaier, PhD | Head of Imaging Core Facility  | Biozentrum, University of Basel | Klingelbergstrasse 50/70 | CH-4056 Basel
> Phone: [phone] | Email: [hidden email] | www.biozentrum.unibas.ch | www.microscopynetwork.unibas.ch
>

--
Dr. Wolfgang Staroske

Single Molecule Specialist
Light Microscopy Facility

Technische Universität Dresden
Biotechnology Center
Tatzberg 47/49
01307 Dresden, Germany

Tel.: [phone]
Fax.: [phone]
E-Mail: [hidden email]
Webpage: www.biotec.tu-dresden.de