A fume hood is a primary method of exposure control for laboratories. Fume hoods are ventilated enclosures, designed to capture, contain, and exhaust fumes and vapors. The Rooster™ platform of airflow monitors is designed for critical containment applications such as fume hoods, and includes options for fume hood control.
Rooster airflow monitors can track fume hood face velocity through a side-wall sensor. Velocity measured through the side-wall sensor is a function of a cabinet’s negative pressure, which is created by the exhaust system. When a sash is opened, or an exhaust system adjusts its speed, negative pressure changes, and this is measured by the side-wall sensor as a change in face velocity. Rooster provides face velocity information locally on its display module and will signal an alarm when measured velocity falls outside of user-defined limits.
Rooster also delivers fume hood control through Sash Switch and Sash Position Sensing options. With the Sash Switch Kit, an inductive proximity sensor is used to detect a metal target and provides a digital input to the Rooster Monitor. The Sash Position Sensor consists of a string pot transducer to detect and measure linear position. It provides a 0-10VDC analog input to the airflow monitor, which is proportional to the string pot cable’s linear extension. For both digital and analog sash sensor operation, the Rooster Monitor will signal an alarm if the sash is in an unsafe position. Side-wall sensing and sash sensing technologies can be used together.
Install a Rooster matched to your fume hood control requirements to monitor airflow safety and achieve compliance. To learn more about Rooster’s control functions and comprehensive feature set visit our site, or contact us anytime. Retrofit options and custom faceplates with your company name and logo are available.
SEFA (Scientific Equipment and Furniture Association) defines a laboratory fume hood as a safety device specifically designed to carry undesirable effluents (generated within the hood during a laboratory procedure) away from laboratory personnel and out of the building, when connected to a properly designed laboratory ventilation system.