Boost Store Energy Efficiency With A Few Simple Changes

For the past twenty-five years, we’ve worked with food retailers to increase their profitability through simple energy cost savings – more specifically, through innovative design of the HVAC systems.  We’ve found that an often-overlooked place to find profit improvement is the retail store energy efficiency. 

Food retailers rightfully focus on sales, signage, purchasing, and shrinkage – all are incredibly important.  Yet, this focus may cause some to unintentionally overlook other opportunities for improving profitability.  One such opportunity is addressing energy inefficiency. 

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The Impact of Energy Inefficiency

The food retail industry has a heightened awareness of shrinkage and loss mitigation. It is easy to understand if energy inefficiency is a lower priority. But for grocers with multiple retail stores, a single door propped open all day can cost thousands of dollars annually in wasted heating and cooling.

The environmental impact is also something to consider. Wasting energy isn’t good stewardship, and increasingly, it matters to customers too. Here are three areas of loss due to inefficiencies or waste, along with a few simple suggestions to maximize store energy efficiency.

Three Areas of Store Energy Efficiency Loss

1. Things Your Store Staff Control

Many losses stem from the habits of busy retail store employees that increase energy consumption. Implementing a few energy savings tips along with some training can make a big difference. Changing a few simple behaviors can reduce energy costs right away:

  • Propping Doors Open : Whether it’s for convenience or a rush during a stock shift, propped doors are a major culprit.
  • Leaving Dock Doors Open : Even for short periods, this can let out significant amounts of treated air, which throws off refrigeration and possibly cold storage systems.

2. Things Your Facilities Maintenance Team Control

Often, well-meaning maintenance teams mismanage systems, which causes excessive energy use. This is where an energy management system or resource management tool can help.

  • Incorrect HVAC Settings : Check to make sure set points are programmed correctly.
  • Occupancy Schedules : Ensure occupancy schedules are set properly for store operating hours so HVAC systems are not running longer than necessary.
  • HVAC Sensor Problems : If sensors that control the system are out of calibration, the entire system works too hard. This leads to energy waste.
  • Poor Air Filter Maintenance : Dirty air filters force HVAC systems to work harder, wasting energy and shortening their lifespan.
  • Schedule Regular Cleaning of Condenser Coils : Dirty condenser coils reduce the efficiency of the HVAC system by keeping them from rejecting heat during cooling.
  • Damper Operation : Schedule periodic checks of the damper actuators to make sure the right amount of air is brought in. Too much intake is an energy hog.

3. Things Your Construction or Contractor Teams Control

Finally, we have issues that arise from decisions made during the design and construction phases. This is the best time to implement proper energy management systems and decarbonization strategies that inherently save energy. This only adds to the profitability of your retail store.

  • Improper HVAC Sensor Placement : If a sensor is placed in a direct air stream or is blocked by shelving or product, it can give a false reading, throwing off the entire system’s efficiency. Other sub-optimal sensor locations that may produce false readings are in direct sunlight or near a heat source.
  • Improper duct installation : Ensure return and supply ducting are placed far enough apart so they do not interfere with each other. This avoids the return grate sucking in the supply air. We see this more than you might think.
  • Adding and Removing Doors : Seemingly minor changes to cold cases and doorways can impact airflow and refrigeration needs. Cold storage is particularly sensitive to these changes.

Addressing Store Energy Efficiency in Your Business

Addressing your retail store’s energy efficiency can be straightforward. LED lighting, for instance, is a great place to start. Here are some additional suggestions to help you improve profitability without much effort.

  1. Invest in automatic door closers and educate staff on their importance.
  2. Schedule regular HVAC maintenance and sensor calibration.
  3. Implement energy-efficient lighting solutions like LEDs.
  4. Consider energy-efficient refrigeration systems and train staff to keep cases stocked and closed properly.
  5. Consider a more holistic approach to HVAC and refrigeration design. Often, the refrigeration system can provide all the heat needed to warm an entire store during colder months.

“Flō Energy Solutions has design strategies that can increase coefficent of performance by as much as 3 times over air source heat pumps and up to 6 times more than traditional electric heating.” – Laura Semidey, Director of Engineering & Innovation, Flō Energy Solutions

Think of these upgrades as not only saving energy but saving energy and money. Store energy efficiency is an investment.  Done properly, these improvements increase profitability while demonstrating social responsibility to increasingly environmentally-conscious customers.  Retailers are even eligible for Energy Star certification opportunities for implementing efficiency measures.

For more simple, no-cost suggestions, take a peek at this blog post by Opus Energy, a leading renewable energy provider in the UK.

Conclusion

Enhancing store energy efficiency is more than just a trend. The push for decarbonization can actually have a positive impact the profitability of your enterprise, from convenience stores to local grocery stores to big box retailers.

Reducing energy consumption requires a multi-faceted approach – calling for commitment across all levels of the organization, frontline workers and upper management alike. Small tweaks to improve energy efficiency add up when implemented across multiple stores. Granted, it might not be as exciting as a new product launch, but few things are as satisfying as watching your energy savings add up as you decarbonize your enterprise.