The single greatest barrier to food stores initiating energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) projects is initial costs. The “sticker shock” prevents owners from acting on measures that reduce energy and maintenance costs, improve the customer experience and ultimately the bottom line. Learn more about three powerful ways to pay for energy upgrades while maintaining a positive cash flow: [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
The single greatest barrier to food stores initiating energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) projects is initial costs. The “sticker shock” prevents owners from acting on measures that reduce energy and maintenance costs, improve the customer experience and ultimately the bottom line. Learn more about three powerful ways to pay for energy upgrades while maintaining a positive cash flow: [...]
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 [...]
Last month, we discussed the lack of effective performance baselines for natural refrigeration systems and how that makes it difficult for utilities to provide natural refrigeration incentives. In this article, we’ll talk about the second challenge faced by end users and utilities: the lack of good modeling software for natural refrigeration systems. When seeking incentives from utilities for natural refrigeration, [...]
By Leigha Joyal Energy Analyst, Hillphoenix Food retail is among the most electricity intensive commercial enterprises, and store owners want to reduce their consumption and their bills. Utilities want to see that happen, too. Containing consumption is more cost effective for utilities than expanding the electric grid. That’s why they have incentive programs that defray some of the costs of [...]
By Keilly Witman KW Refrigerant Management Strategy LLC Much has been written over the past few months about the potential for utility incentives based on natural refrigerant use in supermarkets. The word “potential,” as well as the nature of the articles, suggests that utility incentives for naturals are a thing of the future. Not so! There are plenty of examples [...]
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 [...]