WHY WORRY ABOUT FREEZER ENERGY CONSUMPTION?

Coal & Natural Gas Main sources of UNC’s energy

17% of Rx Energy Refrigeration units**

40-60% of campus E Research & Hospital buildings*0

500

1000

1500

kW at

th /

m 2

Building type Energy use*

*National Institute of Building Sciences **E Source LLC

WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF THE UNC FREEZER CHALLENGE?

1. Raise awareness about environmental impact of cold-storage 4

“

”

As former scientists, neither Allison nor myself ever once

thought about our lab refrigerators or -80°C freezers, aside from making sure they were still functional and that

samples remained where they were left

5

I2SL president, Phil Wirdzek

WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF THE UNC FREEZER CHALLENGE? 1. Raise awareness about environmental

impact of cold-storage

2. Give scientists tools to use cold-storage efficiently

3. Reduce energy usage in labs across UNC Goal to have 100 labs participate

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WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF THE UNC FREEZER CHALLENGE?

2. Give scientists tools to use cold-storage efficiently

a) Improve sample access and viability b) Develop sample management skills

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WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF THE UNC FREEZER CHALLENGE?

3. Reduce energy usage in labs across UNC

a) Retire as many freezers as possible b) Maintain freezers in optimum conditions

8

WHAT IS THE FREEZER

CHALLENGE?

WHAT IS THE UNC FREEZER CHALLENGE?

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• 200 labs from 34 US organizations participated in the First North American Laboratory Freezer Challenge in 2017.

• In 2018, 175 labs from 28 organizations participated in the first International Laboratory Freezer Challenge

*Collectively reducing 1600 megawatt hours *Equivalent of 1 year of electricity use

by 154 average U.S households

UNC FREEZER CHALLENGE PARTNERS

WHY PARTICIPATE?

WHY PARTICIPATE?

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Keep your samples safer.

Avoid freezer failures.

Make your lab more sustainable.

Winning UNC lab receives a new -80°C freezer.

Winning International lab will be featured in Nature & be sent to Boston for I2SL annual conference.

CHALLENGE TASK CATEGORIES

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Participants will accumulate points from accomplished tasks in these categories:

(Earn 1 point for each action taken per refrigeration unit)

Good management practices Temperature tuning Retirements & upgrades Cutting-edge practices Share information

GOOD MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

Defrosting freezers Cleaning out freezers and refrigerators Inventorying samples Storing samples at high density

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TEMPERATURE TUNING

Adjusting the set point of ultra-low temperature freezers

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Credit: Yang H. Ku/C&EN/Shutterstock

TEMPERATURE TUNING

Adjusting the set point of ultra-low temperature

17

Delphine Faugeroux, UC Riverside, 2016

TEMPERATURE TUNING

Adjusting the set point of ultra-low temperature freezers Storing samples at appropriate temperatures

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Credit: Yang H. Ku/C&EN/Shutterstock

RETIREMENTS AND UPGRADES

Retiring old refrigeration units Replacing older refrigeration units with energy-efficient units

Efficient Freezer Rebate Program by RESPC 35% instant rebate on purchase of new highly efficient ULT freezer

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CUTTING-EDGE PRACTICES

Sharing refrigeration space with a colleague Barcoding samples Trying/adopting room-temperature sample storage

Labs will also earn points for sharing information about their own best practices regarding sample storage and inventory

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SHARING

Displaying a Freezer Challenge poster in your lab Sharing the Freezer Challenge on your lab’s social media Writing a blog post about your experience Creating a video about your lab’s participation Registering another lab to participate in the challenge

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LOGGING IN YOUR POINTS

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234 ° C -20 ° C -80 ° C

≈ 40%

8-30

≈ 50%

5-120.5-6

≈ 20%

Type

Consumption

(kWh/day)

Potential

savings

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THE FREEZER CHALLENGE?

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THE FREEZER CHALLENGE?

PI: Save on equipment breaking down

Longer sample viability Save money on buying new freezers

Trainees: More money for new reagents Quicker access to all samples & reagents

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REGISTER http://uncgreenlabs.web.unc.edu/unc-freezer-challenge/register/

TOOLS AND RESOURCES

Website will be used as hub of : Updates on challenge Training material Form submission

Reporting results: Points will be submitted every month Updates on a scoreboard every month

Communication channels: UNC Green Labs Facebook, Twitter accounts

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TIMELINE OF THE FREEZER CHALLENGE

Jan : Registration opens

Feb : Good management practices

Mar : Temperature tuning

Apr : Cutting-edge practices

May 1st : End of challenge. Winner announced

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THANKS! Any questions, advice?

You can contact me at: FreezerChallenge@unc.edu

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Fisher Scientific Cooler Reuse Program

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Containers are in the following buildings:

• Fordham • Genetic Medicine • Genome Sciences • Hooker (3rd floor only) • Kerr • Koury • Lineberger • Marsico • MBRB • Thurston Bowles

Extra slides

TEMPERATURE TUNING

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Delphine Faugeroux, UC Riverside, 2016

TEMPERATURE TUNING

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Delphine Faugeroux, UC Riverside, 2016