AEP Ohio given 2018 Energy Award for more energy efficient technology among freezers

AEP Ohio and DNV GL were honored with the 2018 Energy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Emerging Tools and Technologies this week for work on an ultra-low temperature freezer technology that is energy efficient.

“This unique partnership between a utility and manufacturer is a blueprint that other utilities can follow,” Andrew McCabe, commercial programs manager, said. “Typically, utilities wait for the manufacturer to approach them with certified innovative products but, in this case, AEP Ohio initiated the discussion to drive the industry recognized energy star certification.”

The technology is used by hospital, universities and labs alike for the storage of biological samples. As such, their efforts are critical to operations–but AEP Ohio and DNV Gl managed to reduce electrical usage in the process by as much as 75 percent without loss of temperature. That fact earned the ULT technology an energy star certification, and now, the award from the Association of Energy Service Professions (AESP).

“The opportunity to create a new market for energy efficient technologies and products is one that AEP Ohio consistently seeks out,” McCabe said. “Helping Stirling Ultracold achieve ENERGY STAR certification and bring this technology to a market where there was no energy efficient alternative was a way to provide significant energy savings to the ultra-cold segment.”

AEP and DNV GL accelerated the certification process through review of third-party data, verifying savings calculations and designing a customer friendly incentive structure built around it. The product is estimated to have a U.S. market of 800,000 units–meaning it could reduce consumption in the market by more than 2,000 gigawatt hours.