Estimated annual energy costs

Lab equipment can use huge amounts of energy, particularly anything that has a motor, heating element, or cooling function.

Drying ovens and drying cabinets

It's important to differentiate between drying ovens and drying cabinets to minimise energy use to suit the needs of your research.

Drying ovens:

• typically have more insulation than drying cabinets, and can operate at higher temperatures, with better temperature uniformity
• are designed to contain samples

Drying cabinets:

• generally consume more energy than ovens, due to poor insulation and greater internal volumes
• are typically designed for drying glassware or consumables

Using drying ovens and drying cabinets efficiently

• Use the smallest drying cabinet you can for your needs
  
• Internal fans, digital temperature and time displays, and in-built timers can all reduce energy consumption
• Avoid running drying cabinets overnight
• Use timers to avoid constant operation – contact leaf@bath.ac.uk if you need a timer plug
• Operate drying ovens and drying cabinets at the lowest possible temperature for your needs - for example, drying ovens with thermostatic controls ranging from 1 to 6 are often, unnecessarily, set to the maximum
• Consider replacing old glassware drying ovens - old glassware ovens are sometimes uninsulated and therefore experience large heat losses, which can cost £300 more a year to run than newer models
• Items should never be placed directly over the heating element at the bottom of your drying cabinet. This can cause the heating element to cut out, reducing heat to the rest of the cabinet and lengthening the drying process.

Incubators

Larger incubators are typically more energy- and space-efficient, but you should only use them if the extra space is needed.

Avoid long door opening times, which will impact internal temperature and humidity.

If you purchase a new incubator, look for a best performance of around 14 watts per litre per day. Find out more about purchasing responsibly in labs.

Water baths and heating blocks

When using water baths or heating blocks, please:

• switch them off when not in use
• keep them covered while in use to minimise heat loss
• avoid running them overnight
• note that larger units typically have slower warm-up times, so use the smallest unit you can for your needs

Using thermal beads (such as Lab Armor) as an alternative to water blocks or water in your water bath reduces energy consumption by more than 40% and removes the need for any racks or plasticware to hold tubes or vessels in place.

Water purification units

When using water purification equipment, please make sure:

• the capacity of water purification units is sufficient for your lab use
• you critically consider the water purification requirements for each experiment and avoid using excessively processed water

Read more about sustainable water use in labs.

CNC and manual machine tools

When manufacturing using machine tools we can adopt various energy saving practices, for example:

• switch off machines when not in use
• ensure regular maintenance is carried out on machinery
• purchase material blocks as close as possible to finished size to minimise cutting
• use CADCAM software to optimise toolpaths and reduce idle time; simulations in the software can help achieve this
• optimise your use of coolant by selecting an effective coolant and ensuring ongoing monitoring of pH levels to maximise coolant life
• select materials to optimise for energy efficiency, minimal environmental impacts and to optimise tool life, for example, selecting titanium, brass or aluminium for machining operations in preference to plastic or steel

View further guidance on optimising CNC parameters for sustainability.