So you test fume hoods. In a way, that is like saying you are a photographer or a cook. Those activities span a broad range of people and skills. We can recognize an expert chef or photographer by their accomplishments, but what makes a fume tester special or an expert?

The reason we test in the first place is to make labs safer and to help protect users from hazards, but do current testing methods and procedures do that? We know that to really accomplish this goal, we need a holistic approach to testing. Unlike a BSC (Biological Safety Cabinet), the fume hood isn’t a self contained stand-alone device. It is much like a three legged stool. We have the hood and lab design, the mechanical laboratory ventilation system and the user and their work practices. Unless we address all these elements, the system will not be steady and stable, and will not offer the level of protection it is intended to.
 

As a Certified Hume Hood Tester, you can bring more value to your customers with a holistic approach. Along with determining the performance levels of the hoods and ventilation system, testing is a huge opportunity to be an educator, teaching users how to interact safely with the fume hood.

 

At Fume Hood Certified, we have taken our years of experience in fume hood performance safety and created a comprehensive program that will elevate you above those ordinary testers. For the past two years, we have been inventing processes to make fume hood testing more user friendly and the results more actionable.

We started with a patent pending invention, the Tri-Color Visualization Containment System. The system enables you to accurately and easily conduct performance and containment testing utilizing the ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 110, while maintaining all records for each hood via the FHC cloud based program. Tri-Color brings ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 110 into the 21st Century.

Tri-Color is more than just testing, it is an educational tool. With Tri-Color, you can demonstrate events that were not visible previously. People will see fume hood performance in a whole new light. By making the invisible visible, we have taken fume hood testing to a whole new level. By making Tri-Color simple and affordable, we have made it possible for many more people to get the benefits of fume hood testing.

As a Certified Tester, we will support you to help you become an expert in your own right. Tri-Color will give you a competitive edge. Test better, faster and more complete! Give your customers something of value. Testing, training and compliance all in one place.

Tri-Color testing is a credible, comprehensive, and complete performance based certification program for fume hoods. The Tri-Color program will enable you to give your customer the real information they need to make the correct decisions regarding their hoods.

Whether you are just upgrading to our HIN labeling program or looking for a way to do an ASHRAE 110 test without SF6, the Tri-Color program offers all of that and much more.

 

Historically, face velocity has been used as the primary indicator of laboratory fume hood performance for several decades. However, studies involving large populations of laboratory fume hoods tested using a containment-based test like the ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 110 (Method of Testing the Performance of Laboratory Fume Hoods), reveal that face velocity alone is not an adequate indicator of fume hood performance. Face Velocity alone has no relationship to containment. Therefore, safety certifications based on face velocity are not indicative of safe performance, yet tens of thousands of fume hoods are certified each year based on face velocity alone.

 

A fume hood's ability to contain is significantly impacted by what happens in and around the hood as well as overall room conditions. Yet, most fume hood tests are static. Furthermore, since the airflow is invisible, test results are generally just a bunch of numbers. How are we supposed to translate that data into actionable procedures?

ASHRAE 110 testing utilizing SF6 is not environmentally friendly. SF6 is a strong greenhouse gas. It is banned in California and hard to get in many other places. It is expensive, requires expensive equipment and a trained tester to conduct the test. The test results are also hard to read and not very useful.

                              Tri-Color is a great alternative to these limitations listed here.