Save energy in your lab
Minimising energy consumption in your lab can reduce environmental impacts and save money on energy bills.
Conducting world-leading research requires a lot of time, resources, and energy. Energy use is responsible for roughly 10% to 12% of the University’s total carbon footprint, costing around £12 million each year. Saving money on our energy bills can allow the University to direct those funds to more effective use.
Labs typically consume 3 to 10 times more energy per square metre than a typical academic or office space. In wet labs, heating, cooling, and ventilation are often big contributors to energy use. In dry labs, power demands from data storage and computer use can be significant.
Using your equipment efficiently will:
- save money on energy bills
- prolong the life of equipment, saving you money on repairs and replacements
- reduce environmental impacts
Minimise your equipment use
If you use equipment that allows for batching, like cold storage, ovens, autoclaves, and dishwashers, only use them when they're as full as possible.
Install timers on equipment that can be turned off or has predictable, regular hours of use. Use seven-day timers if your equipment use is different during weekends and weekdays. Contact leaf@bath.ac.uk if you would like an energy timer plug.
Make sure computers and screens have automatic stand-by modes set to the minimum time possible.
You could also consider implementing:
- a booking system to allow multiple users to use equipment at the same time if they require the same settings
- a system to make sure that equipment and lights are turned off when they’re not needed - this might include an end-of-day checklist
Communicate switch off measures to all lab users
When working in labs with multiple users, clear signage and processes can allow all users to take collective responsibility for making sure lab equipment is only on when it needs to be.
Use signs or colour-coded stickers to identify:
- equipment that only needs to be on when in use
- equipment that needs to be on for a certain amount of time
- equipment that should never be turned off
Where relevant, include information about the equipment’s start-up time or warm-up time.
Use marker cards to let other lab users know when they need to leave unattended equipment on. This will help all lab users feel more confident switching off unattended equipment.
If you would like switch-off stickers or whiteboard magnets to help promote these actions, contact leaf@bath.ac.uk
Download sustainable-practice posters for your lab
Prioritise using energy-efficient equipment
You can prioritise using energy-efficient equipment in your lab by investing in appliances and technologies designed to minimise energy use while maintaining performance. This includes choosing energy-efficient models and opting for more efficient heating, cooling, and ventilation systems.
Find out how to reduce energy consumption in the lab when using:
If you're buying new equipment, find out about:
Optimise your equipment
Use appropriately sized equipment for your task to help minimise energy use.
For equipment that needs to be switched on for set periods of time, you can save energy by using timers. If the equipment doesn’t have these built in, use a timer plug. Contact leaf@bath.ac.uk if you need one.
If you suspect some of your older equipment is not using energy efficiently, monitor its energy use to evaluate its baseline impact. A lot of lab equipment can be assessed with plug-in energy meters. Contact energyteam@bath.ac.uk if you have any concerns about the energy use of your equipment.
For equipment that uses lighting, consider LED lights where practical. LED lights are up to 90% more energy-efficient than incandescent light bulbs and last around 25 times longer. For example, LED microscopes can offer savings of around £500 a year compared to mercury light source microscopes.
Contact us
If you have any questions, please get in touch.