PG&E’s Emerging Technologies Program ET14PGE1721, ET16SCE1060, ET15DG1092, Ultra-Low Temperature Freezers: Opening the Door to Energy Savings in Laboratories ET Project Numbers: ET14PGE1721, ET16SCE1060, ET15SDG1092 Project Managers: Jeff Beresini Pacific Gas and Electric Company Paul Delaney Southern California Edison Kate Zeng San Diego Gas and Electric Company Prepared By: The Center for Energy Efficient Laboratories (CEEL) Allison Paradise, My Green Lab 101 Oak Rim Way, Los Gatos, CA 95032 Denis Livchak and Edward Ruan, Fisher-Nickel, Inc. 12949 Alcosta Blvd, San Ramon, CA 94583 Alison Farmer, kW Engineering 287 17th Street, #300, Oakland, CA 94612 Issued: August 31, 2016 Copyright, 2016, Pacific Gas and Electric Company. All rights reserved. PG&E’s Emerging Technologies Program ET14PGE1721, ET16SCE1060, ET15DG1092, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Emerging Technologies Program is responsible for this project. It was developed as part of Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s, Southern California Edison’s, and San Diego Gas and Electric Company’s Emerging Technology program under internal project numbers ET14PGE1721, ET16SCE060, and ET15SDG1092 respectively. My Green Lab, Fisher-Nickel, Inc., and kW Engineering conducted this technology evaluation for Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas and Electric Company with overall guidance and management from Jeff Beresini, Paul Delaney, and Kate Zeng. For more information on this project, contact Pacific Gas and Electric Company at [email protected] or [email protected]; Southern California Edison at [email protected] or [email protected]; San Diego Gas and Electric Company at [email protected] or [email protected]. SPECIAL THANKS The CEEL would like to thank the following individuals for their invaluable contributions to this project: Steve Arvedson (Amgen), Jeff Biederman (Global Cooling Inc), Justin Chien (Azzur), Pat Fontenot (Amgen), Russ Koehler (Amgen), Andrew Mattheson (Azzur), Monica Molana (FNI), Caitlin Quigley (Azzur), Linda Tu (Azzur), David Zabrowski (FNI), and Adam Zirkin (My Green Lab). The CEEL would also like to thank our manufacturer partners, who donated many freezers and countless hours to this project, and our field test sites, who generously donated their time and freezers. LEGAL NOTICE This report was prepared for Pacific Gas and Electric Company for use by its employees and agents. Neither Pacific Gas and Electric Company nor any of its employees and agents: (1) makes any written or oral warranty, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to those concerning merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose; (2) assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, process, method, or policy contained herein; or (3) represents that its use would not infringe any privately owned rights, including, but not limited to, patents, trademarks, or copyrights. 1 PG&E’s Emerging Technologies Program ET14PGE1721, ET16SCE1060, ET15DG1092, CONTENTS CONTENTS _____________________________________________________________ 2 INDEX OF FIGURES _______________________________________________________ 6 INDEX OF TABLES ________________________________________________________ 15 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ___________________________________________ 17 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ____________________________________________________ 18 INTRODUCTION _________________________________________________________ 20 CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND _______________________________________________ 21 CHAPTER 2: ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES _______________________________________ 24 CHAPTER 3: TECHNOLOGY/PRODUCT EVALUATION _____________________________ 25 CHAPTER 4: TECHNICAL APPROACH/TEST METHODOLOGY ________________________ 27 Controlled Environment ENERGY STAR Test of Upright ULT Freezers27 Baseline Data Gathering ......................................................... 34 Baseline Data Gathering at University Field Test Site ............ 34 Baseline Data Gathering at Biotech Field Test Site ................ 36 Field Test of ULT Freezers: Evaluation of New Technology .......... 36 Field Test of ULT Freezers: Test & Instrumentation Plan – Evaluation of New Technology ........................................................................... 37 Surveys Used for HVAC Impact Work .................................. 44 Energy modeling .............................................................. 45 Market Assessment of ULT Freezers ......................................... 48 CHAPTER 5: RESULTS _____________________________________________________ 49 Controlled Environment ENERGY STAR Tests of ULT Freezers: Energy Consumption Results ............................................................. 49 Controlled Environment ENERGY STAR Tests of ULT Freezers: Temperature Performance Results .............................................................. 51 Freezer Door Opening Temperature Characterization ................. 55 Freezer Set Point Temperature Characterization ........................ 60 ULT Freezer Size and Total Energy Consumption ....................... 63 Baseline Evaluation of Existing Freezers in The Field .................. 66 Controlled Field Tests of ULT Freezers ...................................... 72 ULT Freezer Calibration ..................................................... 73 ULT Freezer Validation ...................................................... 73 ULT Freezer Controlled Field Tests - Energy ......................... 74 2 PG&E’s Emerging Technologies Program ET14PGE1721, ET16SCE1060, ET15DG1092, ULT Freezer Controlled Field Tests – Temperature Performance... 84 Standard ULT Freezer Temperature Data, Monday Door Opening Schedule at -80C ........................................... 84 Energy-Efficient ULT Freezer Temperature Data, Monday Door Opening Schedule at -80C ................................... 87 Standard ULT Freezer Temperature Data, Thursday Door Opening Schedule at -80C ........................................... 89 Energy-Efficient ULT Freezer Temperature Data, Thursday Door Opening Schedule at -80C ................................... 91 Standard ULT Freezer Temperature Data, Summary of Temperature Variance ................................................. 93 Energy-Efficient ULT Freezer Temperature Data, Summary of Temperature Variance .............................................. 97 ULT Freezer Recovery Time .................................................. 103 HVAC Energy Impact ........................................................... 106 Lab HVAC Systems and Plug Loads ................................... 106 ULT Freezer Locations: Results ........................................ 108 HVAC System Types: Results ........................................... 109 The Lab Prototype Model ................................................. 109 HVAC Energy Impacts: Results ........................................ 111 Market Assessment Results .................................................. 112 Survey Respondents ....................................................... 112 ULT Freezer Quantities .................................................... 115 ULT Freezer Size – Upright Freezers ................................. 116 ULT Freezer Size – Chest Freezers .................................... 119 ULT Freezer Brands ........................................................ 122 ULT Freezer Age ............................................................. 127 ULT Freezer Capacity Utilization ....................................... 129 ULT Freezer Purchase History .......................................... 133 ULT Freezer Purchase Rationale ....................................... 134 ULT Freezer Priorities and Purchasing Factors .................... 135 Energy Efficiency ............................................................ 137 Energy Star Rating ......................................................... 138 Energy Efficiency Premium .............................................. 139 Distribution of Financial Incentives for Energy Efficiency ..... 141 CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION ________________________________________________ 142 Energy Efficiency and Performance ........................................ 142 Effect of Financial Incentives for Energy Efficiency ................... 144 Quantifying Direct Energy Savings ......................................... 146 Integrating Secondary Energy Savings ................................... 148 Rebate Potential for ULT Freezers .......................................... 149 Distributing Financial Incentives for Energy-Efficient ULT Freezers150 The Impact of Temperature Tuning........................................ 151 3 PG&E’s Emerging Technologies Program ET14PGE1721, ET16SCE1060, ET15DG1092, CHAPTER 7: SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS _____________________________ 152 Endnotes ............................................................................ 154 APPENDIX A: FIELD STUDY TC PLACEMENT ___________________________________ 156 APPENDIX B: VALIDATION RESULTS _________________________________________ 163 APPENDIX C: ULT FREEZER ENERGY CONSUMPTION – STANDARDIZED FIELD TEST _______ 177 ULT Energy Consumption Charts at -80C ............................... 177 ULT Energy Consumption Charts at -70C ............................... 181 ULT Freezer Energy Consumption By Day ............................... 184 APPENDIX D: ULT FREEZER TEMPERATURE PROFILES _____________________________ 201 ULT