Personal Note From Patrick, The Editor

Hi Reader, hope you are doing well!

In a previous lesson, we looked at how to account for the energy consumption of your lab equipment.

However, there are three reasons why we’re interested in assessing the exact energy use of a specific piece of equipment.

Therefore, today we’ll cover what these are and how you can successfully measure them without becoming too technical:

Number Of The Day

​Gumapas et al. published a study investigating the energy consumption of their freezers. They found that each 1 °C increase in room temperature led to an extra 18 kWh of energy use per month, releasing an additional 9.27 kg of CO₂e from their models. Catching these and other nuances is essential, and that’s why we’ll show you how to do it:

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How To Measure Yourself

Few researchers have a clear sense of how much energy a particular piece of equipment consumes.

Moreover, measuring energy consumption often sounds complicated—something only experts can handle. Nothing could be further from the truth.
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Here is how anyone can do it—and why it’s so beneficial.

Why Measuring Is Valuable

Measuring the energy consumption of your lab allows you to:

1. Calculate the exact footprint of your laboratory
2. Identify where to prioritise efforts to enable savings
3. Decide when to replace an older instrument

In some parts of the world, grid limitations are already preventing institutions from adopting new instruments, so accurate data is becoming essential.

Caveats—and How to Avoid Them

In theory, measuring energy use is straightforward, but a few mis-steps can compromise an entire dataset. Let’s look at how to get it right.

Outline Your Plan

First, decide between two main approaches:

Estimation​
Take the average energy consumption listed by the manufacturer and multiply it by the time your equipment is in use.

• Works well for devices that run 24/7 (e.g., freezers)
• Less accurate for devices with variable settings (e.g., PCR cyclers, centrifuges)

Check the ACT label—or the manufacturer’s specs—for consumption numbers. For one week, ask users to time their sessions or note settings in a lab book or shared spreadsheet; this gives you realistic usage hours.

Measurement​
Use meters to record actual energy use:

• Plug-in energy meters sit between the instrument and the outlet—easy to obtain and operate.
• Clamp meters (hand-held or panel-mounted) measure current on hard-wired circuits and can log detailed data.

Need more on clamp meters? See the guide in our free Slack channel. Below, we’ll focus on plug-in meters because they’re simplest to deploy.

Setting Up a Protocol

Ask yourself exactly what you want to measure, otherwise the data may be of limited value. Decide whether you aim to:

• Compare two processes (e.g., Protocol 1 vs Protocol 2), or
• Produce a broader assessment (e.g., annual lab energy use)

If you merely note the total energy of a single machine, results can mislead because:

• Freezer energy varies with door openings and load.
• PCR energy depends on settings and daily run count.
• Centrifuges might be used seven times one day and only once the next.

Define Your Setup

• Goal – What question are you answering?
• Assumptions & circumstances – Protocol details, room temperature, layout, etc.
• Method – How data will be collected and which colleagues are involved

Taking Notes

Document well. Here are factors that are often forgotten:

• Instrument model and age
• Load or settings during measurement
• Type of energy meter used
• Environmental factors (e.g., room temperature)
• Data-logging frequency (raw data availability)

Tip: Record your reasoning too—details that seem trivial now can explain results later.

Applying The Knowledge

You have put a lot of effort into your undertaking, don't forget to reap the benefits - share your data!

After measuring, you can project costs or quantify savings—powerful evidence when persuading colleagues or much valued support for the community to help them drive their cause.

Don’t be surprised if your numbers differ from the supplier’s; manufacturers follow strict test protocols that rarely match real-world conditions.

Remember, many factors affect energy use: freezer ice build-up, instrument age, room placement, ambient temperature, and more.

Whenever you read someone else’s report, check their setup and ask how they derived their figures before applying them to your own situation.

Upcoming Lesson:

Choosing More Sustainable Enzymes

How We Feel Today

References

Gumapas, L. A. M. et al., Factors affecting the performance, energy consumption, and carbon footprint for ultra low temperature freezers: case study at the National Institutes of Health. 2012. World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, 10(1–3). doi:10.1504/WRSTSD.2013.050786

Hafer, M. et al., Quantity and electricity consumption of plug load equipment on a university campus. 2017. Energy Efficiency, 10:1013–1039. doi:10.1007/s12053-016-9503-2

Lannelongue, L. et al., Green Algorithms: Quantifying the carbon footprint of computation. 2021. Advanced Science. doi:10.1002/advs.202100707

If you have a wish or a question, feel free to reply to this Email.
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Otherwise, wish you a beautiful week!
See you again on the 17th : )

Find the previous lesson click - here -​

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Edited by Patrick Penndorf
Connection@ReAdvance.com
Lutherstraße 159, 07743, Jena, Thuringia, Germany
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