At iQ Labs, we offer multiple laboratory fume hoods perfect for an educational setting, including demonstration fume hoods.

Fume Hoods in the Classroom

Fume hoods are an essential safety product in school science labs across the country. Whether you’re teaching chemistry in high school or conducting advanced experiments at a university, fume hoods are necessary to protect against harmful gases. Our ducted fume hoods can vent toxins out of the science lab and out of the school building altogether, creating a safe laboratory environment.

5 Common Types of School Fume Hoods

1. Ducted Fume Hoods

By far the most common category of classroom fume hood, ducted fume hoods vent harmful fumes through ductwork and out of the building via the roof.

A wide variety of laboratory fume hoods can be classified as ducted fume hoods. Distillation models, floor mounted hoods, benchtop varieties, and more are all common types of ducted fume hoods found in classrooms.

2. Constant Air Volume Fume Hoods

A constant air volume (CAV) fume hood is a type of ducted fume hood that draws the same volume of air out of the building at all times. This model offers safe, consistent ventilation, ensuring that no toxic fumes escape into the science lab itself.

Variable air volume (VAV) fume hoods use smart technology to determine the most effective and efficient amount of air to vent from the building, depending on the position of the sash. This makes VAV fume hoods more environmentally friendly than CAV models. However, this smart technology also makes them more expensive, which is why they aren’t as common in school settings as CAV fume hoods.

3. Benchtop Fume Hoods

Benchtop fume hoods are an easy addition to any school chemistry lab. Because they sit on top of a workspace, they are easy to combine with new or existing laboratory casework. Their standard design makes them well suited for a variety of scientific procedures and experiments.

4. Demonstration Fume Hoods

Demonstration fume hoods are used most often in educational settings. They’re designed with sash openings on both sides of the hood and come with optional viewing windows so groups of students can observe what is happening in the fume hood safely while the professor is working. Our dual-entry teaching fume hood at iQ Labs is a demonstration model that works well for classroom purposes.

5. Ductless Fume Hoods

Ductless fume hoods are a category of hoods that depend more on filtration than ventilation to remove toxins from the air. Equipped with special filters, these portable fume hoods filter out harmful fumes before releasing the air back into the lab instead of out of the building. Since they don’t have to be connected to any ductwork and can be easily moved around the lab, they are common in classrooms.

Keep in mind that ductless fume hoods require specific filters that depend on which scientific procedures you intend to use them for. The filters must be suited for the work you’re doing in order to ensure that harmful fumes are completely removed from the air.

Safety Guidelines for School Science Lab Fume Hoods

In classroom settings, it is important that anyone operating a fume hood has received training to do so. Trained teachers and professors should teach their students proper safety guidelines before letting them operate a fume hood. High school students should only use a fume hood if they have received training and are working under adult supervision.

Standard safety guidelines for fume hoods in school chemistry labs or science labs include:

1. Always test that the fume hood is working before beginning your work.
2. Never remove the air foil or sill. It is an essential safety component of your fume hood.
3. If the airflow changes unexpectedly, close the fume hood and get help.
4. Always keep your face outside of the fume hood. If you have a floor mounted fume hood in your classroom, never stand inside during procedures.
5. Use personal protective equipment (PPE) when working with a fume hood. Wear any goggles, gloves, aprons, or face shields provided by your school.
6. Never use the fume hood for storage purposes.
7. Always pay attention while working with the fume hood and follow normal safety protocols. Getting distracted or deviating from operational standards can lead to injury.

Other Equipment for School Chemistry Labs

Schools require multiple products to set up their science labs. At iQ Labs, we offer fume hoods, laboratory casework, and other lab furniture accessories, such as:

1. Countertops made from stainless steel, trespa, or epoxy
2. Lab carts, peg boards, and shelving
3. Safety equipment, including eye wash stations, air flow monitors, auto sash closures, and more
4. Sinks, faucets, service fixtures, and other laboratory plumbing
5. LED lighting, electrical pedestals, receptacles, and other electrical work

Why Work with iQ Labs?

iQ Labs is your one-stop shop for laboratory equipment for your school’s science department. Our state-of-the-art steel laboratory casework is trusted by leading research labs, healthcare facilities, government agencies, and educational institutions. With our SEFA (Scientific Equipment and Furniture Association) certification and our 10-year warranty, you can trust that our school lab equipment has been built to last.iQ Labs is also proud to offer some of the shortest lead times in the industry without sacrificing on quality. We manufacture lab equipment that meets your school’s specific needs, from custom dimensions to color matching. Our iQ Quick Ship program ships select benchtop fume hoods, perfect for the classroom, in just one to two weeks. Contact us today to get started.