Topic summary
ULT freezer
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Ultra-low-temperature freezer.
Energy consumption
Due to the low temperature, ULT freezers consume high amounts of electric energy and hence are expensive to operate. In 2010, Stanford University had more than 2,000 ULT freezers, which used an estimated 40 billion BTUs of energy and cost the university $5.6 million annually. Newer ULT freezers consume less energy. Nonetheless, a comprehensive report published in 2015 by the Center for Energy Efficient Laboratories (funded by Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric utility companies as part of their Emerging Technologies program) found that laboratories in California consumed an estimated 800 GWh/year, with ULT freezers being the greatest contributor to that total.