Energy consumption and conservation in food retailing

Abstract

The total annual CO 2 emissions associated with the energy consumption of the major retail food outlets in the UK amount to around 4.0 MtCO 2 . The energy consumption and emissions from supermarkets varies widely and can depend on many factors such as the type and size of the store, business and merchandising practices and refrigeration and environmental control systems used.This paper provides energy consumption data of a sample of 2570 retail food stores from a number of major retail food chains in the UK. The sample covers all major store categories from convenience stores to hypermarkets and includes approximately 30% of the total number of stores in the UK having a net sales area more than 280 m 2 . The data show a wide variability of energy intensity even within stores of the same retail chain. A power law can be used to describe the variation of the average electrical energy intensity of the stores in the sample with sales area. If the electrical intensity of the stores above the average is reduced to the average by energy conservation measures, annual energy savings of the order of 10% or 840 GWh can be achieved representing 355,000 tonnes annual reduction in CO 2 emissions. The paper also discusses the major energy consuming processes in retail food stores and identifies opportunities for energy savings.

Accounting for refrigeration heat exchange in energy performance simulations of large food retail buildings

“…1,[9][10][11] Results reported by both large-scale UK research projects are similar in terms of end-use, suggesting that refrigeration accounts for approximately 25% of overall consumption. Of particular note in the published work is the modelled example provided by Jenkins; 9 this follows a traditional method of simulation and includes heat gains from refrigeration equipment within the model.…”

“…1 The same piece of work states that the energy intensity of a store is dependent on the product mix, with smaller stores being more energy intensive due to proportionally higher densities of refrigerated and heated goods; there is consensus within industry supporting this notion. 1,9,10 The number of SFA refrigeration units is dictated by store requirements and the number of units does not necessarily increase with store size. Figure 1 illustrates this relationship using data from a sample set of forty UK supermarkets which form the basis for this paper and a wider research project.…”

“…1 Energy used to refrigerate food in the sales floor area (SFA) and back of house (BOH) storage can account for over 40% of a typical store's total consumption. 2 Internal heat gains from refrigeration are nominally accounted for in regulatory compliance energy models but the data inputs currently used to represent these are unrealistic as will be demonstrated in this paper.…”

Approaches for modelling the energy flow in food chains

“…Tassou et al [48] employed a regression model to analyse the electrical energy intensity variation with respect to the sales area of UK retail buildings. The study predicted the efficacy of using simple models when the modeller has a firm idea of the influential variables of the system.…”

Analysis of Low Global Warming Potential Fluoride Working Fluids in Vapour Compression Systems. Experimental Evaluation of Commercial Refrigeration Alternatives.

“…In developed countries, retail outlets and food service industry are responsible of around the 3% of total electrical energy consumption. Therefore, 1% of total GHG emissions [41]. Electricity costs are very relevant for the economic balance of the supermarket as they spend in electricity one third of their profit margins [42].…”