Cold Rooms

Cold Rooms
Last week we wrote about sharing freezer/refrigerator space as a great way to reduce costs and save energy.  Unlike freezers and refrigerators, cold rooms have long been a shared storage space.  They are a great resource when used properly, so this week are exploring the best practices for cold room use.

Best Practices for Cold Rooms:

• Do not store cardboard in cold rooms.  
• Treat a cold room like your other cold storage units and discard old, unneeded samples.
• Always fully close the cold room door.  Turn off the lights when you leave the room.
• If a cold room is not being used anymore (note, storage of adult beverages does not count), do not adjust the temperature to ambient - ask someone in your facilities department to turn it off.  Decommissioned cold rooms can be used as storage or as extended lab space.  We've even seen people use them as microscopy rooms.

Having a shared resource like a cold room is a great asset to any facility.  If you're using a cold room, be sure to implement the best practices above as part of the Freezer Challenge.   Although cold rooms aren't addressed specifically, they can be included in the Additional Information section for extra bonus points.