New Stirling Engine Powered Ultra-Low Freezers Return Operational Savings to Research Budgets

Neill Lane, Stirling Ultracold, Global Cooling, Inc.

The Stirling Ultracold SU780UE is a full size (27.5 cu. ft.) ultra-low freezer that consumes less than half the energy of the best competing products and uses no environmentally damaging HFC refrigerants. Unlike all other compressor-based ultra-low freezers on the market, the Stirling freezer uses a unique cooling system that combines a free-piston Stirling engine and a thermosiphon. The energy performance of the freezer has been verified at numerous customer sites. In May 2014, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) released a study of ultra-low temperature freezer energy use on a per cubic foot basis. The study reports the Stirling freezer used 66 percent less energy than the average of other late model freezers tested, and less than half the energy of the best current model tested. The original Model SU780U was introduced to the market in January 2013. This unit used helium in the Stirling engine and R508B in the thermosiphon. In May 2014, however, the SU780UE was introduced with a natural refrigerant, ethane, as the themosiphon working fluid. In all other respects the two models are the same. The new ethane freezer is UL listed. The United States Environmental Protection Agency's Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program has found the company's submission to use ethane in this application complete. The SU780UE plugs into any outlet; delivers the best pull-down from ambient and the best temperature stability; has the widest operating temperature range (-86C to -20C), the largest storage capacity per unit of floor space and no surge currents; and rejects less than half the heat to the room versus any other competitive unit.

Biography:

Neill Lane is President and CEO of Stirling Ultracold, Division of Global Cooling, Inc., Athens, Ohio. Previously he was a co-founder and the President of Blight to Bright LLC, an Ohio developer of large-scale solar installations. He served as Executive-in-Residence with TechGROWTH Ohio, a pre-seed fund providing funding and assistance to early stage, innovative technology companies, and for 10 years as President and CEO of Sunpower Inc., Athens, Ohio. Sunpower developed and manufactured Stirling engines and coolers for solar thermal electric power, household micro combined heat and power, radioisotope space power and cryogenic refrigeration. He led the development of Sunpower's in-house manufacturing and established its worldwide licensing activities. Mr. Lane was born and grew up in Zimbabwe and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. He started his career as a lecturer in thermodynamics and has worked in clean energy his entire career, from developing biofuels as a graduate student to leading the development of world's first solar thermal free-piston Stirling engine.

 

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