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Cold Storage Challenges and Good Practice at UoEdinburgh Martin Farley – Laboratories Facilitator, SRS department [email protected]
Cold Storage Challenges and Good Practice at UoEdinburgh
Martin Farley – Laboratories Facilitator, SRS department [email protected]
Background
• Position created through combination of:
• Currently ‘Laboratories Facilitator’ under SRS department, very needed
UoEdinburgh – Labs facilitator
• Run Edinburgh Sustainability Lab Awards
• Act as a resource for lab-sustainability issues
• Scope, identify, (ideally) improve problematic areas
Issue at hand• How many freezers are there?
• How much do they consume?
• How much energy do they cost?
• No UoE wide SOP
• ~355 at UoE, ID’d locations and estates costs
• Made cost approximation (conservative estimate of 12.5 kWhr/day/freezer)
• Running of our 355 freezers - ~270,000GBP (raise avg running to 13.5kWhr, rises to 280,000, 15kWhr rises it to 300,000)
• Conducted energy study at varying temperatures
Running Temperature
Average KWhr used per Temperature (3 freezers)
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
70 75 80
Temperature (C)
Av
g. K
Wh
r
Average Percent Change per Temperature Variation
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Avg % change for 70-75 Avg % change for 75-80 Avg % change for 70-80%
Ch
an
ge
In Progress . . • Roslin institute has excellent SOP, – Needs standardisation across UoE
• Exit Policies – Huge potential
• Inductions for good practice
-40C -> -20C
• Wellcome Trust Clinic and Genetics Centre are merging freezer rooms
• Looking at replacing -40Cs with -20Cs • Primarily DNA storage • Ideally would allow consolidation of fridges
Freezer Farm – Cooling the rooms
• In initial stages – want to replicate Roslin’s cooling techniques– Looking at recapturing heat if possible
• Utilise cool Scottish air to cool 90 -80Cs as well as -150C room.
• Fans are only triggered at two temperatures
Long-Term Cold Storage Study
• 3 stage, 3 freezer project – 1. Short-term studies (response times with power
cuts, energy loss with door openings, UoE)– 2. 5 year study. Look at energy
consumption/internal temps/sample viability at -80C, -70C, -60C. (VWR)
– 3. UoE continuation of project.
Final remarks . . .
• Multi-pronged approach
• Huge (and growing) potential
• Long-term study to help push larger scientific community – Your input is welcome! – Contact for survey
Contact• Martin Farley: [email protected]
• http://www.ed.ac.uk/about/sustainability/be/laboratories
• S-Lab mailing list: [email protected]
