ESL Indoor Environments Lab (ESL-IEL)

The Indoor Environments Lab was established in 1939 as a test and research facility for the heating, ventilation and air condition industry. For more than 80 years, this independent laboratory at the Texas A&M University RELLIS Campus has served air conditioning and ventilation manufacturers and built environment globally. The laboratory is ISO 17025 (Laboratory Quality) accredited and is an approved testing laboratory for the Energy Star Programs, Home Ventilating Institute, and the California Energy Commission Appliance Efficiency. Additionally, the Indoor Environments Lab provides air conditioning and heat pump testing.

The Indoor Environments Lab’s mission is to provide accurate and repeatable testing and research results, whether it is from a standard test/research procedure or from a custom testing or research procedure developed for specific equipment requirements. Indoor Environments Lab has extensive research and testing experience investigating new technologies for HVAC systems. Indoor Environments Lab strives to accomplish these activities with the highest quality, accountability and ethical practice. Examples of recent and ongoing HVAC projects dealing with both systems and components are in areas such as: innovative residential building mechanical systems, innovative compressor configurations, refrigerants and lubricants, non-standard temperature and weather performance, innovative evaporator configurations, dehumidification technologies, heat driven air conditioning units and condensate recycling.

Services

Testing and research of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning HVAC systems and components
Environment chambers for psychrometric testing, research, and evaluation
Air movement device testing and research
Sound performance testing and research
Vent cap performance testing
Duct pressure drop, deflection, and leakage testing
Heat transfer research
Building energy, efficiency, and sustainable design

Additional Information

Recognitions and Accreditations

The laboratory is ISO/IEC 17025 (Laboratory Quality) accredited and is an approved testing laboratory for the Energy Star Programs, Home Ventilating Institute, and the California Energy Commission Appliance Efficiency.

Research Staff

James Sweeney

Lab Manager, Indoor Environments Lab (IEL)

Principal Research Engineer III

Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station

Kathy Wadle

Program Specialist IV, Indoor Environments Lab (IEL)

Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station

Facilities

Air Flow Testing Facility

Indoor Environments Lab has several airflow chambers that can be used to test and optimize air movement devices (fans, blowers, turbines) and static devices (duct terminations, vents, etc.) up to 6 feet in diameter with capacities from 1 to 50,000 cubic feet per minute. The test chambers are built to ANSI/AMCA Standard 210 (ASHRAE Standard 51), and HVI Procedure 916. Three of these chambers are primarily used for airflow and fan performance. All these systems are controlled and monitored with state-of-the-art data acquisition systems.

Semi-Reverberant Sound Room Facility

The Semi-Reverberant Sound Room Facility is an acoustically isolated room that is designed to reflect sound waves throughout the room and is equipped with a six-microphone array with a state-of-art high resolution digital analyzer and computer control. The semi-reverberant sound room is often used to test the sound level of small sound sources, such as residential home appliances and fans for HVI and Energy Star. This sound testing facility is compliant to ANSI/AMCA 300, EN-ISO 3743-1, and HVI Procedure 915.

Range Hood Capture Efficiency Facility

Range Hood Capture Efficiency characterizes the effectiveness of kitchen range hoods to remove contaminants released by cooking, and Indoor Environments Lab has developed one of the first publicly available test facilities that complies with ASTM-E3087.18. In this facility researchers and industry partners and clients can simulate a variety of real-life scenarios and situations that occur in a residential kitchen space, identifying a system’s rate of efficiency in circulation and removal of harmful emissions and overall promotion of a healthier indoor environment. This facility is controlled and monitored with state-of-the-art instruments and data acquisition systems.

Heating and Energy Recovery (H/ERV) Ventilator Facility

Heating and energy recovery ventilations are a type of air-to-air energy exchanger used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) applications for energy recovery and conservation. The testing of H/ERVs is important for performance evaluation and product development and refinement. Indoor Environments Lab’s H/ERV test bed is currently operational for testing of both HRVs and ERVs with humidity control at desired airflow and temperatures that are suited for simulation in hot and humid environments. Units of different duct configurations can be tested. This facility is controlled and monitored with state-of-the-art instruments and data acquisition systems.

Fixed Bed Regenerator Test Facility

Fixed-bed regenerator (FBR) is also a newer type of air-to-air energy exchanger and recently introduced for energy recovery applications in HVAC applications. The testing and evaluation of these FBRs is important for the development and refinement of these products and the development of testing methods for these newer HVAC systems. This facility is controlled and monitored with state-of-the-art instruments and data acquisition systems.

Psychrometric Testing Chambers

Indoor Environments Lab’s Psychrometric Test Facility provides a controlled environment for testing air conditioning and heat pump systems. This facility is fully instrumented and computerized to monitor and record dry bulb, wet bulb and dew point temperatures from +10 to +120º F, and to measure relative humidity from 5% to 95%. The facility can accommodate equipment up to 10-tons in capacity and can measure air flow rates from 150 to 5,000 CFM. This test facility complies with ASHRAE Standards 116 and ARI 210/240.

Smart Building Research Facility

Indoor Environments Lab is also home to research in smart building research under the leadership Dr. Zheng O’Neill. The Texas A&M Heat Pump (HP) testbed has developed and is operated by the Building Energy and HVAC&R research group for research, evaluation, and development of heat pump-based technologies for next-generation efficient buildings. The testbed’s capability of controlling and capturing the heat pump operation dynamic offers a unique R&D opportunity for prototyping and testing of heat pump technologies and developing intelligent algorithms for control and diagnostic enabling grid-interactive and energy-efficient buildings.

Low Temperature Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) Test Facility

Indoor Environments Lab’s Low Temperature ORC Test Facility provides the capability of testing and evaluating the efficiency of organic working fluids at temperatures as low as 40°F. The equipment, which includes the heat exchangers, pumps, and turbine, were specially chosen or designed to meet the operating requirements for those low temperatures. State-of-the-art data acquisition systems are used to monitor the test loop during operation and includes a control system to adjust the flow rate of the working fluid. This research is important for determining new applications and/or the optimization of Organic Rankine Cycles for producing power at low temperatures.

Frequently Asked Questions

What types of fans can the laboratory test?

The Indoor Environments Lab is an HVI and ES approved test laboratory for the performance testing of residential ventilation products. The laboratory has several airflow chambers that allow all residential ventilation products to be tested. Bathroom exhaust fans, range hoods, inline fans, kitchen and other household exhaust fans, whole house comfort ventilators, powered attic ventilators, static vents (such as ridge vents and soffit vents) and duct terminal fittings. In addition Indoor Environments Lab can test commercial and industrial blowers up to 50,000 cfm.

How does a customer start the process to have fans tested at Indoor Environments Lab?

With a phone call or an email, a customer can contact the Indoor Environments Lab to start the process of having a ventilation product tested. A laboratory staff member will discuss the customer’s testing requirements and assist in the development of a test plan. After the discussions, a formal quote will be sent to the customer that details the testing to be done, the price for the testing and a schedule for the proposed testing to be completed. Typically, products sent for certification testing will be tested within 10-15 working days after receiving the products at the laboratory.

Can I witness the testing of my products?

Yes, Indoor Environments Lab allows customers to view the testing of their products in the laboratory. Customers wishing to see their products tested in the laboratory must make the request in writing during the initial planning stages of their product testing at least 1 month in advance. Once informed, the laboratory will send the customer the required forms that must be completed and returned prior to issuing the contract for testing.

What must be done prior to witness testing?

Witnessed testing allows the customer to observe the process of his/her products being tested in the Indoor Environments Lab. This is a courtesy that we provide to our customers. This must be requested by the customer in writing during the initial conversations that lead to the contract for product testing. Upon receiving the request for witnessed testing, the laboratory will send the required release forms that must be filled out and returned during the initial discussions for product testing. This is necessary due to insurance and risk management policies. Rental of the laboratory for research and development is another service that we provide to our customers. This service allows the customer to “rent” the laboratory on a per day basis, one day minimum, to do research and developmental testing of residential ventilation products. The laboratory will provide one test technician for each day to facilitate the testing. The customer agrees to send a minimum of one person, experienced with the products to be tested. Working together, the customers’ designated representative and the laboratory technician will mount and test the products. If the performance goals are not achieved with the first test, then other options, such as a different motor or a different blade, wheel or grille may be tried. If the performance goals are then achieved, the R&D test report can be provided for an additional fee. A certified test report from the Indoor Environments Lab is accepted both by the HVI and CEC.

What must be done for witness testing?

The customer must designate and send a company representative to the laboratory that is experienced with the products to be tested. The company representative will receive test data for each test performed. The company representative is responsible for assessing the test data and determining the suitability as applied to the products being tested.

What payment methods does Indoor Environments Lab accept?

Payment for testing services at Indoor Environments Lab can be made via company check, credit card or wire transfer. NOTE: TEES’s administrative policy requires that all international and first time customers pay the total amount stated on the contract – in full, in advance and in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. bank.