By Jonathan Tan, VP Energy Services The AMS Group Did you ever think about how much heat there might be in your frozen food aisles? There could be heat on the door glass, the frames around the glass, and the frames on the cases. The heat prevents moisture from forming on the glass and frames – which is essential. But [...]
By Jonathan Tan, VP Energy Services The AMS Group Food stores are complex. What it takes to merchandise effectively, on one hand, and operate efficiently, on the other, can be at odds with each other. Heated cooler and freezer doors are a perfect example. Preventing condensation, or sweating, on low-temperature case doors is a must for merchandising and a good [...]
By Jonathan Tan, VP Energy Services The AMS Group, Hillphoenix Electronically commutated (EC) motors have been an alternative to induction (shaded pole and permanent split capacitor) motors in evaporator fans for the past decade. Although EC motors can reduce energy consumption by as much as 65 percent compared with its predecessors, the higher cost of the technology – and longer [...]
Does merchandising behind closed doors stress you out? Margie Proctor, Hillphoenix marketing & design specialist, offers some tips for merchandising glass-front cases.
The AMS Group Solar power, wind power, fuel cells. These and other alternative approaches to producing and using energy still have an air of newness for most people who are not in the energy business. While the technologies themselves are not new, the traction they are gaining in a more mainstream application and adoption is. This, in large part, is [...]
The AMS Group The initial cost of energy-efficiency retrofits is the single biggest hurdle to initiating projects. That’s because the cost of a project is more salient than the amount of money to be saved by energy efficiency. But what if you compare the cost of a project with the cost of energy wasted instead? The two propositions are the [...]
The AMS Group No matter where you stand on climate change or environmental stewardship, one thing is clear: It pays to be green. That message was driven home when Goldman Sachs upped its investment in energy-efficiency and clean-energy projects over the next 10 years from $40 billion to $150 billion. In fact, investing in energy efficiency is one of the [...]
When grocers look into refrigeration system upgrades, the first thing they want to know is how much they’ll spend. That’s logical and important, of course, but the upfront cost is not your only key metric. To fully understand your potential return on investment, you’ll also want to calculate just how much you can save through refrigeration modernization. Mini-case studies of [...]
Are you looking for projects to help you make the most of your allocated capital expenditure budget before the year runs out? A refrigeration system upgrade is a strong option. Here’s why: It’s a capex project that can be accomplished in a relatively short time. There’s no major construction. It positions your store for more modernization down the road. The upfront [...]
Electricity consumption during certain times of day comes at a high price. To prevent brownouts during demand spikes, utility companies maintain a lot of very expensive equipment on standby and they pass that expense on to commercial (industrial) ratepayers in the form of demand charges — a portion of the electric bill, in addition to actual consumption, that customers pay [...]