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February 2026 Spotlight


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Spotlight

NIH Freezer Challenge Participants

Congratulations NIH! Out of 286 organizations from 36 countries, NIH was recognized for winning the prestigious, organization-wide Honorable Mention in the International Laboratory Freezer Challenge.

Last year, 87 NIH labs participated in the program from January 15 to May 30, 2025. This effort led to energy savings of 1,167,689 kWh/year and electricity cost savings of $115K, as shown in the Figure 1 graphs from left to right.

Figure 1. 2025 NIH Freezer Challenge participation, total energy savings and total cost savings per year.

Participants chose at least one of the Freezer Challenge initiatives from the

, such as defrosting, replacing, retiring freezers and/or refrigerators or operating them at warmer temperatures, etc. A detailed breakdown of energy savings, cost savings and emission reductions per Freezer Challenge initiative is provided in Table 1. For example, 198 freezer/refrigerator units were operated at warmer temperatures. This action alone reduced energy consumption at the NIH by 478,127 kWh and saved us $49,724 in electricity costs.

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Table 1. Energy savings, cost savings and emission reduction per NIH Freezer Challenge initiative.

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The spotlight for the NIH Freezer Challenge is on NIEHS with 21 labs participating, a 140% increase since 2024. Well done!


Figure 2. NIH laboratories participation per Institutes/Centers/Offices in the 2025 Freezer Challenge

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Again, congratulations to the participants. This small group has made a substantial impact, and we truly appreciate your efforts. For those who participated, we hope you will join again this year, and for those who have not yet joined in, we encourage you to give it a try. The 2026 Freezer Challenge is now open and available until May 31, 2026.

Visit https://nems.nih.gov/sustain/Pages/Freezer-Challenge.aspx to get started. For more information, email ORF-DEP@mail.nih.gov .


Featured Article



Performance Contracting for Energy Conservation



Did you know that federal facilities have a way to make infrastructural efficiency upgrades and repairs without any upfront costs? Federal agencies may use performance contracting vehicles such as the Utility Energy Service Contracts (UESCs) and Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) to finance such upgrades/repairs.


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Take Action

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Opportunities for Reducing Energy Consumption



Here are some ideas and easy steps for reducing energy consumption: turn off the lights, turn off devices, activate the sleep setting on all office machines, and use “smart" power strips. Ask facilities operations/maintenance personnel for guidance on other energy conservation measures.


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Fun Fact
Did you know?Anywhere between 5% to 15% of an individual's home electricity bill comes from "phantom loads", which is energy used when devices are in standby mode. 1 Unplugging devices or turning off surge protectors may not seem like much, but it certainly adds up!


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