The International Laboratory Freezer Challenge, a competition to save energy and emissions by improving cold-storage management, runs through July 1.
The challenge, which is free and open to all U-M labs with cold-storage units, encourages laboratory staff to earn points and save energy by performing preventive maintenance, following best practices for temperature settings, replacing energy-intensive older freezers, and reducing the number of freezers.
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A laboratory freezer can consume as much energy in a year as a residential home.
While the challenge is international, U-M hosts an intra-university competition among U-M labs with additional support and incentives. Office of Campus Sustainability staff members offer personalized advice for labs that request assistance. Winning labs receive awards and recognition.
In the 2024 challenge, U-M labs took action on 555 freezers, avoiding 470,000 kilowatt hours-per-year of electricity — equivalent to 37 homes’ energy use — and more than 100 metric tons of carbon emissions annually.
The U-M Histocompatibility Laboratory won an award in the international rankings and U-M received an honorary mention for its collective participation.
“The Freezer Challenge has been less of a challenge and more of an opportunity,” said Bradley Godfrey, lab manager for the Michigan Kidney Translational Medicine Center Lab. “Organizing and reducing samples and replacing outdated freezers has encouraged our group to take action on our energy consumption, while streamlining our large sample collection saves time in the future.”
The Freezer Challenge provides an opportunity for researchers to contribute to a more sustainable campus, protect scientific samples and improve their cold-storage practices.
