Doing Our Part: Energy Conservation
Source:
City Market
We have undertaken several projects in our stores aimed at meeting our commitment to reducing energy consumption. Steps taken in our stores include:
· Replacing lighting in nearly all of our 2,500-plus retail grocery stores with the most energy-efficient lights possible.
· Installing motion sensors that turn lights off when no one is around, and overhead lights that turn themselves back at night.
· Our exit signs use LED lights, which use less energy and last longer.
· Up to 6 percent of the overall sales space in our new stores is lit by skylight. Light sensors signal the automated building controller to turn off overhead lighting when the skylights bring in enough illumination.
· Keeping doors closed to all coolers and freezers as much as possible and keeping strip curtains in place.
· Avoiding overstocking cases or blocking the air curtains.
We also have upgraded hundreds of thousands of refrigerated cases by replacing older, metal fans with lighter plastic smart motors that can be programmed to adjust airflow automatically and operate more efficiently.
We are installing variable-speed drives in air-handling fans and evaporative condenser fans that use a fraction of the energy of older equipment. We are also using thermal imaging cameras to evaluate the efficiency of our cooler cases.
Our research shows that $1 spent on preventive maintenance can save up to $9 in energy consumption down the road. We will continue to search for opportunities to reduce our energy consumption through the adoption of best practices and investments in new technology.