Drug Research and Development laboratories although do revolutionary work in their settings, it is also important to note that such labs call for high energy needs, one-time-use products, and constant chemical consumption. All of this can have a negative impact on the environment but if we follow proper laboratory practices, we can certainly reduce this impact significantly.
- Equipment that consumes a great amount of energy in research labs is the ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezer. On average, you can expect a ULT freezer to demand 16 to 25 kWh every day. In research labs, there are multiple such freezers and if they are not handled correctly, they can cause energy bills to rise and contribute toward a large carbon footprint. In this blog, we’ll discuss some practical ways of reducing these undesirable impacts of freezers on the environment. Let’s take a look at them.
- The first thing you can do is alter the set temperature from -80 degrees Celsius to -70 degrees Celsius. By doing this, you can bring down the energy consumption of freezers by as much as 2 kWh per day. The great thing about this practice is there will be no impact on the sample integrity. Plus, freezer’s life span will get better as there will be less stress on the compressor
- It is advisable to not place ULT freezers in small rooms or spaces. This is advised because placing freezers in such spaces can force the compressor to work extra hard to keep the set temperature. In addition to this, you can see a rise in the room temperature by 10 to 15 degree Celsius, which needless to say, will put pressure on the laboratory’s HVAC system
- Another important practice is to keep at least 8 inches of space between the ULT freezers in a lab. This is recommended because freezers are known to generate a lot of heat, which needs room to move. If it is not provided with sufficient spacing to move, the heat will again move back into the freezer’s motor, which will force the motor to consume more energy in order to function
- You should install a good ventilation system at the back of all ULT freezers in the lab. With the help of an exhaust system, the heat generated from the freezers is pushed outside in the summers and spread throughout the laboratory in winters
Follow the aforementioned tips and you will notice a significant reduction in the freezes’ undesirable impacts. It is also advised to replace your old ULT freezers in time and get new, best Arctiko freezers for sale available online at Government Lab Enterprises. Old freezers are known for using double the energy as compared to the new ones. At GLE, you can purchase freezers manufactured by So-Low in different sizes with alarm systems and even touchscreen display.