CU Boulder's ULT Freezer Monitoring to Identify Freezers to Incentivize for Replacement

Estelle Lindrooth, CU Boulder

In 2021, University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) implemented campus-wide monitoring of our ultra-low temperture (ULT) freezers to both protect research samples and to monitor performance of these freezers. One of the metrics monitored is ULT freezer electricity consumption (kWh/day). As a result, the CU Green Labs Program has access to data on the electrical consumption of all ULT freezers at CU Boulder. CU Green Labs is partnering with campus Energy Management to utilize this data to provide heightened financial incentives to engage scientists to replace the most inefficient units on campus with energy-efficient ULT freezers. Not only are the incentives helping labs become more energy-efficient, but higher-than-normal energy consumption is a sign of a potential problem with a freezer that may need replacement before the freezer fails.

Learning Objectives

• Learn how CU Boulder came to have campus-wide monitoring of ULT freezers;
• Learn the range of energy consumption observed for ULT freezers at CU Boulder;
• Learn how much more inefficient ULT freezers are costing CU Boulder in electrical costs than energy-efficient units; and
• Learn how much more inefficient ULT freezers are costing CU Boulder in electrical costs than energy-efficient units.

Biography:

Estelle Lindrooth is a senior majoring in Statistics and Data Science at University of Colorado Boulder. She has been working as a CU Green Labs assistant for three years. As a Green Labs member, she has worked on increasing awareness of sustainable laboratories through making posters, reaching out to laboratories, and collecting lab recycling.

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