Improved Controls for Energy Efficiency in Laboratory Cold Rooms

Daniel McCormick, National Resource Management, Inc

Many Laboratory Cold Rooms commonly use 'hot-gas bypass' refrigeration systems to ensure close temperature control, with tolerances as small as 0.5° C. These 'always on' refrigeration systems use considerably more energy than comparable pump-down systems used in food storage, but have long been necessary to maintain the extremely tight temperature ranges necessary in critical laboratory environments.

New web based digital temperature control systems allow for drastic energy savings with equivalent or sometimes better thermal management than the existing hot-gas bypass operation. In 2012, National Resource Management (NRM) partnered with local utility (NSTAR) to pilot a controls retrofit at Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, MA. Over 30 cold rooms were retrofitted with the new controls which resulted in compressor runtime reductions of over 70%, with annual savings in excess of 30,000 kWh per cold room. The project had a simple payback of only a few months. Thermal performance was consistently equal to or better than the previous hot-gas bypass operation.

The intent of this presentation is to educate the I2SL community on the potential for reduction in energy use in similar applications. We will look at real-world results, data, and temperature trends, and discuss how the utility application process works for this type of technology. We will also discuss some of the challenges and concerns, and lessons learned from this and similar retrofit projects in several bio/pharma facilities throughout the country. Attendees will come away with next steps to explore the potential for similar opportunities in their own facilities.

Learning Objectives

  • Participants will be able to identify opportunities for energy savings in laboratory cold rooms, and will be able to perform a preliminary assessment of their own equipment.
  • Participants will be prepared to explore and discuss refrigeration efficiency improvements with important stakeholders such as EHS, refrigeration technicians, and scientists.
  • Participants will be able to apply for utility incentives, where available, towards laboratory cold-room upgrades.

Biography:

Dan McCormick is with NRM, Inc, an energy-efficiency contractor with a special focus on refrigeration automation and controls. He has over 15 years experience in refrigeration controls and energy-management systems, and has been involved with thousands of retrofit projects.

 

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