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In the commercial building space, grocery stores rank #1 for electricity intensity, having a higher electricity cost per square foot than even health care facilities. In terms of operating expenses, end-use energy is the second greatest expense after labor for food retailers. It should come as no surprise that a good deal of the industry's voracious appetite for energy is due to refrigeration.
In fact, it's the single greatest electricity load across the industry. According to data from the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) presented in the Advanced Energy Retrofit Guide for Grocery Stores, refrigeration systems account for up to 60 percent of electricity usage. As consumer demand for fresh and frozen foods continues to grow, so will electricity intensity, with more store space devoted to refrigerated display cases.
Another important factor is the complexity of the grocery store environment. To create and maintain optimal store conditions, the building's systems essentially work against each other. General illumination competes with lighting used to enhance merchandising. Refrigeration competes with maintaining comfortable aisle temperatures for customers. Seasonal and daily weather variables further complicate the mix, affecting loads on refrigeration and HVAC systems. When any one of a store's systems isn't operating optimally - at designed specifications - it affects the performance of the other systems and the overall store environment.
It also significantly drives up energy consumption and expenses. In refrigeration systems alone, migration away from designed set points...