best practices in laboratories from the dual perspectives of research and sustainability

best practices: laboratory equipment fume hoods ultra-low freezers lasers microscopes large centrifuges heating blocks tissue culture hoods autoclaves deionized, distilled, and ultrapure water

plastics gloves animal bedding best practices: laboratory consumables

a brief conceptualization of energy consumption 30 kWh/day

fume hoods wikipedia.com

fume hoods greenfumehood.com

fume hoods classification velocity of airflow through the hood uses of the hood ducted v ductless

fume hoods: how it works ehs.ufl.edu

fume hoods: how it works web.princeton.edu

fume hoods: constant air volume (CAV) exhaust flowrate or quantity of air pulled through the hood is constant oregonstate.edu

fume hoods: variable air volume (VAV) exhaust flowrate or quantity of air pulled through the hood varies southwestsolutions.com

fume hoods energy consumption 3x typical household -Lawrence Berkeley Labs

‘be good in the hood’

ALWAYS close the sash thermoscientific.com safest position.

‘be good in the hood’ do not store unnecessary items in the hood

‘be good in the hood’ being good in the fume hood not only ensures your safety but it also saves energy

tissue culture hoods med.cam.ac.uk newvoiceforresearch.blogspot.com

tissue culture hoods: how they work ars.usda.gov

tissue culture hoods energy consumption 1 – 12.6 kWh/day depending on usage -manufacturer data 0.3 – 0.6 kWh/day per UV lamp -manufacturer data

‘be good in the hood’

turn hood COMPLETELY off thelabworldgroup.com prevents UV damage to reagents and staff

‘be good in the hood’ being good in the tc hood not only ensures your safety and prevents unnecessary UV damage to hood contents but it also saves energy

ultra-low freezers

ultra-low freezers: -80 energy consumption 15 – 20 kWh/day -manufacturer data -validated by monitoring

‘-70 is the new -80’

chill up freezers from -80 to -70 save 2-4kW per day

DOE ‘-70 is the new -80’

clean freezer coils, regularly defrost freezer save 12-25% energy other best practices for ultra-low freezers prolong lifetime of the freezer

perform scheduled maintenance on freezers other best practices for ultra-low freezers prolong lifetime of the freezer

remove old, unneeded samples other best practices for ultra-low freezers fewer samples stored, fewer freezers are needed

transfer samples to other storage paradigms -20 freezers ambient temperature storage containers other best practices for ultra-low freezers fewer samples stored, fewer freezers are needed

lasers laserfest.org

lasers: types gas lasers solid state

lasers: gas energy consumption 15 – 120 kWh/day -manufacturer data

exchange gas lasers for solid state lasers could save a minimum of 50% energy -manufacturer data best practices for lasers solid state lasers last longer, lower maintenance costs

prolongs lifetime of the laser saves energy best practices for lasers turn off (gas) lasers when not in use, especially over the weekend

microscopes

mercury-free microscopy

mercury/metal halide bulbs mercury-free microscopy

mercury/metal halide bulbs 5000 hours/mg Hg 2.5 hours/mg Hg 1 bulb 2000 bulbs mercury-free microscopy

recycle used mercury and metal halide bulbs

energy consumption illumination: 0.12 – 6 kWh/day -monitored by My Green Lab other best practices for microscopy

exchange mercury/metal halide for solid state light sources savings 25 – 90% -monitored by My Green Lab other best practices for microscopy less toxic, cost less to own, in many cases are better for samples

cost of ownership of microscope illumination sources MERCURY ARCMETAL HALIDESOLID STATE Replacement bulbs15015n/a Total Bulb Costs$22,500$10,500$0 Total Liquid Light Guide Costs n/a$5,250$0

LED comparison with metal halide: stability

LED comparison with metal halide: ‘brightness’ metal halide (300hrs) v. sold state

LED comparison with metal halide: energy consumption

other best practices for microscopy turn off microscope equipment when not in use prolongs lifetime of the equipment saves energy

large centrifuges djblabcare.co.uk

large centrifuges energy consumption 0.7 – 6 kWh/day -manufacturer data

store rotors at 4  C energy savings minimum 10% best practices for large centrifuges saves time

turn centrifuge off after use savings minimum 10% best practices for large centrifuges prolongs lifetime

heating blocks phenixresearch.com

heating blocks energy consumption 0.5 – 12 kWh/day -S-labs

best practices for heating blocks turn them off when not in use energy savings minimum 10% prolongs lifetime improves safety

autoclaves oh.water.usgs.gov lightlabsusa.com

autoclaves: types stand-alone bench-top

autoclaves water consumption 90 gallons hot water per cycle 22 gallons cold water for effluent cooling -UCSB

autoclaves University of Edinburgh autoclaves accounted for 41% of the total energy usage on campus energy consumption

combine loads use a smaller, research –grade autoclave best practices for autoclaves keep autoclave in ‘standby’ rather than ‘on’

water tap water distilled water deionized water ultrapure water

water tap water distilled water deionized water ultrapure water purified

distilled water (ddH 2 O) energy and water intense

deionized water (DI) pre-treatment reverse osmosis polishing (deionization) UV sterilization, final filtration usually stored 50% efficient

ultrapure water: Millipore (MilliQ) goes through a filter 35-50% efficient, larger systems more efficient -UCSB

only use what is necessary – keep in mind that what you use is just a fraction of the total water being used recycle filter cartridges through Millipore best practices for water consumption

consumables

plastics

caissonlabs.comlabnetinternational.com

plastics waste stream est 12% is recycled every year est 1100 square miles of plastic leave labs -Mt. Baker Bio

recycle plastics that can be recycled best practices for plastics utilize vendor recycling programs use biodegradable plastics use only what is needed

VWR: TerraCycle for all pipet tip boxes vendor recycling programs Genessee Scientific: pipet tip boxes only from GS Mt. Baker Bio: pipet tip boxes, reagent bottles

gloves wikipedia.org

gloves waste stream 1000s of pounds – not well documented

reuse gloves when possible best practices for gloves glove recycling program through Kimberly-Clark

animal bedding drsforstersmith.com petcity.com.au

animal bedding waste stream usually sent to a landfill Emory University produces 22 tons/month

compost best practices for animal bedding “bedder” animal bedding