Grocery Store Freezer Energy Efficiency

Save up to 35% on Walk-In Freezer Energy Costs
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Supermarket Walk-In Freezer Energy Solutions

Profit margins in the grocery space are razor thin, and researchers at energystar.gov estimate that $1 in energy savings is equivalent to increasing sales by $59. Energy demands in U.S. supermarkets are massive, with refrigeration and lighting accounting for over 50% of total energy use. Each year, the average American supermarket consumes roughly 50 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, and 50 cubic feet of natural gas per square foot. This translates into average annual energy costs of $200,000, and the emission of 1,900 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere–the equivalent of 360 vehicles. Even small grocery stores have significant energy requirements as walk-in freezers experience severe heat infiltration during operating hours, necessitating the consumption of more power to keep foods at the desired temperature.

Thermal Energy Storage systems inside walk-in freezers (and distribution centers) improve temperature stability and reduce energy spend and the carbon footprints of grocery stores. 

Learn how Thermal Energy Storage reduced load by 70% and improved temperature stability by 38% inside the freezer of an international grocery chain.

Cold Storage Benefits of TES
Reduce Energy Costs Up to 50%
  • Improve efficiency an average of 26%
  • Shift load up to 13 hours to avoid demand and time-of-use charges
  • Lower pricing through demand reduction
  • Increases return on renewable energy investments by pairing them with efficient long-duration storage
Improve Refrigeration Efficiency 25%
  • Shift more run time to night
  • Run compressors at maximum designed efficiency
  • Absorb & consolidate up to 85% of heat in refrigeration air flow
  • No moving parts that require additional energy
  • PCM transfers heat 8X faster than food
Improve Temperature Resiliency & Stability
  • 3X longer temperture resiliency during power loss or equipment failure
  • Absorbs and consolidates 50 to 85% of heat infiltration
  • Reduces temperature stratification
  • Reduces temperature fluctuations by half
  • 24/7 remote monitoring & notification service
Extend Refrigeration Equipment Life
  • Reduce refrigeration mechanical run time
  • 24/7 monitoring & notification of equipment status
  • Add component-level visibility with actionable data
  • Reduce existing maintenance costs
  • Uncover equipment issues before they become costly problems
  • No additional maintenance required for TES
Preserve Food Quality & Shelf Life
  • More stable temperatures
  • Minimize micro-thawing and large crystal formations in food
  • Reporting & documentation for chain-of-cold verification
  • 3X longer thermal back-up resiliency
  • Reduces temperature stratification
Improve Profitability
  • TES-as-a-Service fixed monthly subscription
  • No upfront capital cost
  • Guaranteed energy savings
  • Cash-flow positive from day one
  • Monitoring and maintenance included
  • Off balance sheet service agreement
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Frozen Food Market Trends 2020

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Not only is the number of consumers purchasing frozen food growing, but many have also switched to ordering directly online from restaurants and foodservice distributors. The question is: How has this rapidly changing behavior affected the cold storage industry – an essential element of our supply chain dedicated to protecting, delivering, and handling temperature-controlled goods in the United States. Warehouse demand, in general, has been accelerating in recent years, largely due to the booming e-commerce industry. The world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm, Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis (CBRE), examined the relationship between e-commerce grocery growth and cold storage warehouse capacity in its 2019 “Food on Demand Series: Cold Storage Logistics Unpacked” report, forecasting that in order to meet the demand generated by online grocery sales, an additional 75 to 100 million sq. ft. of industrial freezer and cooler space will be needed within the next five years – an increase of roughly 47%. CBRE researchers also suggest that much of the cold-storage sector’s growth is likely to occur in gateway markets like Los Angeles and the New York area, as well as in top food-producing states such as California, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida, and Washington state. As the pandemic persists, cold storage facilities are at record high capacity and struggling to keep up with the continuous demand. Cold storage facilities typically fall into the categories of public refrigerated warehouses (PRWs), foodservice and wholesale, grocery distribution centers and retail stores, and food processing facilities. Due to changing demand, PRWs have been forced to provide smaller, more frequent orders. National food industry news source, The Food Institute, stated that “Instead of supplying a full pallet of a single product to a warehouse, PRWs are now delivering a pallet with multiple products directly to the store. These small orders increase labor requirements and change transportation options drastically.” Many expect major PRWs to accelerate the industry’s consolidation trend in order to gain more control over the United States’ cold storage footprint. It is also expected that to address the changing market, cold storage facility operators will be proactively upgrading their warehouses with new technologies to improve operational efficiency and flexibility. 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