Buyer’s Guide to ULT Freezers

Your ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezer is one of the most important pieces of equipment in your laboratory, storing your valuable reagents and irreplaceable samples. With so much at stake, choosing the right unit can seem like a daunting decision. And with the lifespan of freezers continually increasing, it’s likely it’s not something you have purchased in a while. So aside from your budget, what else should you consider when making a buying a ULT freezer?

Location and capacity

Where in your laboratory your freezer will be located needs to be decided before making your purchase, and your available footprint can influence your freezer storage capacity and whether you choose an upright or chest configuration.

Once decided, selecting the final capacity of your freezer is an important decision. “Lab directors should carefully consider their requisite storage conditions and any regulatory requirements on products,” says Ryan White, Senior Product Manager of ULT Freezers at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Considering how your storage needs might change in the future is also vital to ensure you future-proof your purchase for the years ahead.

Reliability and performance

Reliability is essential to consider when purchasing a ULT freezer. Downtime, which in the least demands that reagents are moved elsewhere and in the worst can result in spoiling, can cost thousands of dollars and potentially irreplaceable loss of research. But in addition to looking at product reliability claims, you should also consider unit warranty and service contract options to ensure routine preventive maintenance and repair can be completed.

When considering the performance of a unit, you should take a holistic view of product features to maximize sample security. Performance characteristics including peak variation, temperature uniformity, door-open-recovery, warm-up time, and noise level should all be evaluated when making your final decision.

Energy efficiency

A single ULT freezer can consume approximately the same annual electricity as the average modern household. These days, consumers are increasingly demanding more energy-efficient designs and manufacturers have responded. Modern freezers now use around half the energy they did five years ago, and environmentally friendly refrigerants have very low global warming potential and much greater efficiency. “The Accountability, Consistency, and Transparency (ACT) Environmental Impact Factor Label is a testament to this ongoing change, providing verification of equipment’s environmental impact and helping labs meet their sustainability goals,” says White.

Aside from reducing your carbon footprint, there are also “numerous financial benefits to using low energy freezers,” explains Joe LaPorte, Director of Products and Projects at PHC Corporation. More efficient units not only reduce “energy consumption of the freezer, but also release less heat into the surrounding atmosphere, reducing air conditioning costs to cool the room.”

User friendly

Rarely is a freezer door opened with empty hands, so looking for “a user-friendly design is another important consideration,” says White. Convenience features such as easy-grip handles, storage racks, and automatic vacuum release for smooth repeated door openings can make your day-to-day life much easier. Other features such as auto-defrost settings, claw latches, and insulation on inner freezer doors help maintain a uniform temperature and improve freezer efficiency and life span.

With the rising cost of reagents and working patterns changing, security is also of increasing importance—with units offering cylinder locks and the additional potential for padlocking when extra security is required.

Connectivity and remote monitoring

When the global pandemic led to the sudden forced closure of many labs, the desire and need for equipment connectivity increased rapidly. ULT freezers were no different, and the potential for connectivity is now a major consideration when making a purchase. Labs are increasingly looking to integrate their ULTs into LIMs and automation systems to secure their assets.

The ability to remote monitor is also important. The considerable cost of reagents means that people want to know that their freezer is working, even when they are not in the lab. Insurers can insist on remote monitoring if a claim is made against the contents, and the pharmaceutical industry often requires continuous monitoring for FDA scrutiny. In addition to knowing that their unit is working, predictive analytics give “insight into how well it is operating and if it is likely to fail,” says LaPorte, saving time and money. “An easy-to-use user interface that provides historical data retention, and the ability to customize remote alarms and settings is another important consideration when selecting equipment,” adds White.

ULT freezer management

Freezer management is also important. Selecting the right racks for your freezer can optimize your freezer space and make items easier to find. Racks are available in a choice of stainless steel or aluminum, with drawers or side access, and for sample boxes, microtiter plates and tubes, so knowing what you are going to store is important in making a decision. Custom racks can be designed to accommodate any unusual or oversized items.

Electronic sample management tools are also available and “look set to develop in the future,” predicts LaPorte. The automated tracking of freezer contents allows accurate inventory management and eliminates the problems of human error in a traditional spreadsheet or even paper-based lists of storage contents.

Conclusion

ULT freezers are a vital piece of equipment, and careful purchasing is required to ensure the long-term security of your samples. Recent developments in energy efficiency, connectivity, and sample management are reducing the environmental impact and operating costs of units, making them easier to manage even when you are not in the lab. And with the rapid growth of biologics and gene therapies increasing the prominence of ULTs—these developments look set to continue.