Recently, while walking through the frozen food section of my local grocery store, I found myself drawn to the pizza case. It's never a good idea to go grocery shopping when you're hungry (and boy was I starving), but since I was already there, I decided to pick up dinner.
This particular store carries several different pizza brands, including its very own. Yet while the store brand was cheaper, I chose a more expensive item. Why?
The national brand's advertising probably had something to do with it, but what really put me off the store brand was the way the product looked. The frost buildup on the package suggested the pizza had thawed and been refrozen. Not very appetizing.
So the store - a well known chain - lost the opportunity to sell a higher margin product due to poor refrigeration management.
Unfortunately, many retailers have this problem - they don't manage refrigeration effectively. The need to keep shelves stocked must be balanced with the need to control energy consumption.
Retailers naturally want to increase sales, so they try to keep freezers full. No one wants to lose a customer because an item is out of stock. But overstocking refrigerated cases can lead to mechanical issues, which often results in spoilage.
For example, a manager may want to increase sales of premium beef, so he increases the number of items on display. The excess merchandise blocks airflow within the unit, which affects the temperature of stocked items. Some are too cold while others are too warm. As a result, the coloration of the meat is inconsistent, making it less attractive to the consumer and reducing sales.
One solution to this problem would be to reduce the amount of product on display, but restock more frequently. Another would be to spread the items into two cases. Either alternative would result in a more attractive display while allowing the refrigeration unit to operate more efficiently.
Photo courtesy of iboy_daniel
Energy prices are stable right now, but high prices are bound to return. I recently posted a discussion topic to a few LinkedIn Groups I am a member of. The question was "What's the least expensive way to reduce energy costs?" Dozens of people responded and there were several very good ideas.
Performing lighting retrofits was by far the most common response, but not the cheapest. The best money saving tip for reducing energy costs was simply to change employee behavior. Depending on how you approach it, communicating with store personnel is essentially free. The interesting thing is how rarely this approach seems to be implemented.
Other recommendations for reducing energy consumption included
- Installing timers or motion sensors that automatically turn off lights
- Developing an energy management strategy
- Installing highly reflective roofing
- Benchmarking energy use and tracking consumption
Below are a few quotes from people who responded. I've left out the names of people who responded out of respect for their privacy.
"The best program we have done to date by far would be raising employee awareness and educating them on the benefits of turning off equipment and building lighting overnight and over weekends . . . once you get your building occupants on board you are primed for more aggressive efforts moving forward."
"Implement auditable energy saving practices at the stores...day/night switches etc. Keep targets and a monitoring system in place for energy conservation."
"Air infiltration through the building envelope has been found to account for up to 1/3 of the energy use in commercial buildings, and the National Energy Technology Lab reports up to 51% of energy use is attributed to glazing when daylighting and thermal impacts are considered."
"It's critical to be conscious at the design stage itself. The kind of electrical equipment/lighting, the wiring and the circuitry needs to be planned with conservation in mind. Later it requires additional cost to reduce wasteful consumption."
Photo by James Bowe