UNH lauded for energy-saving updates to lab freezers

Sunday, September 8, 2019

UNH has another sustainability feather in its cap, one that brings new meaning to its “cool school” designation.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has honored UNH with its Accelerating Smart Labs Award for the university’s success in replacing aging ultralow freezers with environmentally friendly, highly efficient models for safe and reliable sample preservation. The program has reduced annual repair costs to nearly zero and has returned an energy savings of $10,000 per year.

UNH has about 75 ultralow freezers chilling down to -80 degrees Celsius, says University Instrumentation Center (UIC) director Shawn Banker. He shares the award, to be presented at the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories conference in Denver in October, with the UNH Smart Labs Accelerator team members from the Sustainability Institute, energy office, chemistry department and office of environmental health and safety.

Photographer: 
Jeremy Gasowski | UNH Marketing | jeremy.gasowski@unh.edu | 603-862-4465