Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A genomics core facility consolidates 14 freezers down to 9 by archiving old samples, saving an estimated 56 MWh per year.
- Is an instance
A sustainability office subsidises replacement of 1990s freezers with ENERGY STAR units and tracks per-PI kWh reduction.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A cafeteria walk-in refrigerator is not research cold storage.
- Not an instance
Laboratory HVAC for fume cupboards is energy-intensive but not cold storage.
Editorial commentary
Cold storage is one of the highest per-unit energy consumers in modern research, with a typical -80 degC ULT freezer drawing 16 to 22 kWh per day, comparable to a household. Energy-reduction strategies include warming the setpoint from -80 to -70 degC (saving roughly 30 percent), defragmenting and consolidating samples, replacing old units with ENERGY STAR or ACT-rated models, and operating sample-sharing platforms to reduce duplicate storage. Many institutional carbon-reduction plans treat cold-storage energy as a flagship intervention because savings are measurable and politically visible.
References
- International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories Freezer Challenge data; ACT label database (CEEL).
Also known as
ULT freezer energy · Cold-chain research energy
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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vocab-term="Cold-storage energy (research)"
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