Erlab Captair 321 Smart – Ultra-Compact Ductless Fume Hood for Precision Work and Low Energy Use

The Erlab Captair 321 Smart is the most compact model in Erlab’s ductless fume hood range, featuring a slim 800 mm width footprint and a distinctive oblong front opening with two ergonomic hand ports.

This sash geometry reduces the influence of environmental air disturbances on the containment barrier while maintaining user protection — and because only one filtration column is required, it delivers a more accessible investment cost and lower long-term operating expenses than wider systems with multiple filter stacks.

Instead of exhausting conditioned laboratory air outdoors like traditional ducted hoods, the Captair 321 Smart continuously draws contaminated air through a modular filtration column combining activated carbon for vapours and HEPA or ULPA filters for particulates, before safely recirculating purified air back into the room. This drastically reduces HVAC energy demand and prevents emissions to the outside environment.

For powder handling and toxic solids, ductless filtration provides a major safety advantage: particles are captured directly at source rather than accumulating inside long extraction ducts. When fitted with particulate filters, the hood becomes a highly effective solution for pharmaceutical APIs and weighing workflows.

Because the hood is not connected to building exhaust systems, airflow remains extremely stable — enabling precision weighing down to semi-micro level (0.01 mg) without balance instability caused by pressure fluctuations in ducted installations.

The Captair 321 Smart complies with AFNOR NF X 15-211, EN 1822 and DIN 12 927 standards and operates with airflow around 220 m³/h while consuming only ~65 W, keeping lifetime energy costs exceptionally low.

Erlab’s integrated Smart Technology continuously communicates protection status through light and sound signals while monitoring airflow velocity, temperature and humidity.

Installation is flexible: the hood can be mounted on an existing laboratory bench or on a dedicated Erlab support stand, allowing easy integration into new builds, renovations or rental laboratories.

Each project is supported by Erlab’s ESP programme, which includes expert application risk assessment, certified commissioning and long-term safety monitoring — a key differentiator versus manufacturers that shift responsibility to the end user.