Sustainable cold storage reduces environmental impact and ensures viability. Integrating energy-efficient tech, renewable sources, and waste management minimizes footprints, enhancing resilience and lowering business costs.
FREMONT, CA: In life science and pharmaceutical laboratories, dependable cold storage is essential for preserving materials like cell cultures, patient samples, and biologics. However, refrigeration technologies' environmental impact has been a concern. While crucial, they consume significant energy and utilize harmful refrigerants like chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons, which contribute to ozone layer depletion.
Industry leaders are increasingly focusing on cold storage to enhance environmental sustainability in laboratories. They aim to develop eco-friendly refrigeration technology and establish optimal practices. This paper offers guidance on adopting a strategic approach to strengthening cold storage sustainability in labs.
Preventative Maintenance
A simple yet effective approach to decreasing the energy expenses associated with regular or ultralow-temperature (ULT) freezers involves implementing preventive maintenance measures. This typically entails regularly defrosting the freezers, ensuring the cleanliness of filters, and addressing more complex maintenance issues such as monitoring temperature regulation and sensor functionality. Annual inspections for all freezers are conducted to verify the integrity of door seals and other components.
Temperature setpoints
In many instances, ULT freezers are set at temperatures lower than necessary for storing their contents, potentially due to regulatory requirements. However, there is often no scientific justification for maintaining temperatures as low as -80°C for sample preservation. Adjusting the temperature by even a modest ten °C can result in significant energy savings, potentially up to 30 percent. It's advisable to verify freezer temperatures with an independent sensor, particularly for -20°C freezers, as running colder than -20°C is neither necessary nor expected. Ensuring accurate maintenance of desired temperatures leads to substantial long-term energy conservation.
