June Newsletter - ENERGY STAR for Lab Freezers & More!

ENERGY STAR® Rating for Laboratory Freezers 

If you follow MGL you are probably familiar with the statistic that one ULT (-80) freezer consumes as much energy as a single family home every day.  Well that statistic is about to change.  The EPA has recently released an ENERGY STAR® rating for ULT freezers, and these ENERGY STAR freezers use 60% less energy than their standard-efficiency counterparts.   A complete list of ENERGY STAR-rated ULT freezers will be posted on the EPA website later this year.
The nearly decade-long effort to establish energy standards for ULT freezers involved contributions from over 100 people representing almost as many organizations.  Together we led the establishment of an ENERGY STAR rating and drove the redesign of freezers with energy efficiency in mind, leading to a potential savings of 500 million kWh/year nationwide and a significant reduction in the use of high global warming potential refrigerants.  Together we have begun changing the way laboratory equipment is designed, sold, and used.

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