Installation of Energy-Efficient Cage Washers for Childrens Hospital Vivarium

描述(由申请人提供)：费城儿童医院(CHOP)寻求为其主要的购买并安装两个高效笼式垫圈，这是一个总面积为32,000平方英尺的多物种设施，为拥有PHS资助的独立研究拨款的科学家和工作人员提供机构动物资源。目前在中使用的两个笼架垫圈和一个隧道垫圈都有15年的历史，效率低下。该设备定期进行维修，当功能正常时，提供较长的周期。新型、更现代化的笼式垫圈将提高许多领域的效率，包括蒸汽使用量(48%)、电力使用量(14%)、热水使用量(78%)、冷水使用量(91%)和洗涤剂使用量(83%)。这些效率提高将降低78%的每负载成本，同时将当前周期时间从26分钟减少到仅9分钟。在年化的基础上，这些收益将转化为超过1,000千瓦的电力节省，热水使用量减少1,000,000加仑，蒸汽使用量减少40.5万磅，同时显著增加这个繁忙的动物设施的吞吐量。隔室位于艾布拉姆森儿科研究中心，是CHOP推进儿科疾病翻译研究使命的场所。它目前主持着镰状细胞疾病、血友病、儿科肿瘤学、胎儿干细胞治疗、胎儿肺生长、囊性纤维化、线粒体疾病、哮喘、癫痫、传染病和疫苗开发等关键研究。随着CHOP的翻译研究项目持续增长，医院寻求保持高性能和环境可持续的基础设施，以支持艾布拉姆森中心间隔室及其研究项目的科学目标。隔室里既有大型动物物种(狗、猪、羊和兔子)，也有CHOP的啮齿动物检疫设施。它提供生物安全二级啮齿动物住所，将传染病隔离在邻近Colket Translational Research Building(科尔科特翻译研究大楼)的CHOP老鼠屏障设施中。自2006年以来，以实验动物为基础的研究项目每年增长30%，包括狗和羊等大型动物物种，艾布拉姆森中心的笼式/架式垫圈对更大容量吞吐量的需求变得更加迫切。新招募的研究人员需要将近亲繁殖的、突变的和基因工程的小鼠群体重新定位为要砍下的小鼠群体，这使得容量需求变得更加复杂。在转移到CTRB屏障之前，这些新的克隆必须首先重新衍生(创建无病原体的小鼠)。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) seeks to purchase and install two high- efficiency cage washers for its principal vivarium, a 32,000 gross square feet multi-species facility that serves as an institutional animal resource for scientists and staff with PHS-funded independent research grants. The two cage/rack washers and one tunnel washer currently used in the vivarium are 15 years old and inefficient. The equipment is regularly under repair and, when functional, offers long cycle times. New, more modern cage washers will provide efficiency increases across many areas, including reduction in steam usage (48%), electricity (14%), hot water (78%), cold water (91%), and detergent (83%). These efficiency gains will decrease cost per load by 78% while reducing current cycle times from 26 minutes to just 9 minutes. On an annualized basis, these gains will translate to more than 1,000 kilowatts in electricity savings, over 1,000,000 fewer gallons of hot water used, and utilization of 405,000 fewer pounds of steam, all while significantly increasing throughput for this busy animal facility. The vivarium, located in the Abramson Pediatric Research Center, is the locus for CHOP's mission to advance translational research in pediatric diseases. It currently hosts pivotal research studies in sickle cell disease, hemophilia, pediatric oncology, fetal stem-cell therapy, fetal lung growth, cystic fibrosis, mitochondrial diseases, asthma, epilepsy, infectious diseases, and vaccine development. As CHOP's translational research programs continue to grow, the Hospital seeks to maintain a high-performing and environmentally sustainable infrastructure in support of the Abramson Center vivarium and the scientific goals of its research programs. The vivarium houses both large animal species (dogs, pigs, sheep, and rabbits) and CHOP's rodent quarantine facility. It provides biosafety level 2 rodent housing, isolating infectious diseases from rodents housed in CHOP's rodent barrier facility in the adjacent Colket Translational Research Building (CTRB). With 30 percent annual growth of laboratory animal- based research projects since 2006, including large animal species such as dogs and sheep, the demand for higher volume throughput from the Abramson Center's cage/rack washers has become more acute. Volume demands are compounded by the need to isolate within the vivarium the inbred, mutant, and genetically engineered mouse colonies relocated to CHOP by newly recruited investigators. These new colonies must first be rederived (creation of pathogen- free mice) prior to transfer to the CTRB barrier.