​Four labs participated in the 2020 NIH Freezer Challenge to improve freezer management, increase freezer reliability, and reduce energy consumption. 

My Green Lab and the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) hosts an annual International Freezer Challenge where thousands of labs from private companies, universities and government organizations compete to see who can reduce the most energy consumed by the freezers in their labs. The NIH Freezer Challenge Results were submitted to the International Freezer Challenge. The NIH won the 2020 International Freezer Challenge in the government organization category. Also, the NCI Laboratory of Cell Biology won the 2020 International Freezer Challenge in the individual government laboratory category. A big congratulations to our NIH participants.

The challenge was held from January 1 to July 1 of 2020. Challenge initiatives ranged from maintenance options, such as defrosting freezers, to laboratory best-management practices, such as changing the temperature setting of Ultra-Low Temperature (ULT) freezers from -80°C to -70°C. Changing the temperature setting of an ULT freezer from -80°C to -70°C reduces the amount of work that the compressor does, which increases freezer reliability and reduces energy consumption by about 30%. The results shown in the table below shows the power each lab has to increase freezer reliability while also protecting the environment. These savings are from only four labs; imagine what we could do if the entire NIH joined in! Participate in this year's​ Freezer Challenge to help out!

2020 NIH Freezer Challenge Participants

A summary of the energy savings, costs savings, and greenhouse gas reductions are shown in the table below. Visit the freezer challenge Power BI report for additional freezer challenge data.