WHY WORRY ABOUT FREEZER ENERGY CONSUMPTION?

Coal & Natural GasMain sources of UNC’s energy

17% of Rx EnergyRefrigeration units**

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

500

1000

1500

kWat

th /

m2

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

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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 UNCGoal 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 viabilityb) 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 possibleb) 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 inNature & be sent to Boston for I2SL annualconference.

CHALLENGE TASK CATEGORIES

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� Participants will accumulate points fromaccomplished 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

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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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REGISTERhttp://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

33

Delphine Faugeroux, UC Riverside, 2016

TEMPERATURE TUNING

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Delphine Faugeroux, UC Riverside, 2016