Emerson Climate Technologies, a business of Emerson, announced recently that United Dairy Farmers (UDF) has selected the E2 Facility Management System, which is designed, manufactured and installed by Emerson Climate Technologies’ Retail Solutions Division, to reduce energy costs across their enterprise.
The E2 has been installed in many store locations, and UDF intends to upgrade all new and existing stores with the system. United Dairy Farmers operates an estimated 200 convenience stores across Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
Improvements Required
After analyzing operational data for their entire enterprise, United Dairy Farmers management realized that improvements in energy efficiency, system maintenance, and product protection were required. Since it began using E2, United Dairy Farmers management has documented an 8% reduction in electrical consumption (kWh) and a 5% reduction in demand (kW).
“With more pressure than ever on operating profits, our use of Emerson’s technologies have delivered greater energy and maintenance savings than any other initiative,” says Brad Lindner, CEO for United Dairy Farmers. “This helps our store managers focus on delivering the superior customer service United Dairy Farmers is known for, while enabling our operations team to save energy and ensure stores run optimally.”
As a core component of Emerson’s Intelligent Store™ architecture, the E2 manages all lighting, refrigeration, and HVAC systems in a convenience store, including the anti-condensate heaters on glass door display cases. United Dairy Farmers is also using the E2 to remotely control their fuel pumps – a strategy which has led to a significant reduction in service calls and maintenance costs. The E2’s built-in peak demand control algorithms and integration with smart utility meters allows United Dairy Farmers to directly monitor a store’s power usage, shedding non-critical electrical loads when power consumption is in danger of exceeding a desired level. This demand shedding strategy allows United Dairy Farmers to minimize electrical demand charges and ensure that stores never exceed their allowable power usage – all without the addition of extra hardware or control systems.
Localized Control
Integrating all of these systems into the E2 enables multiple stores to be monitored from a central location. Emerson’s Intelligent Store architecture creates an integrated suite of products and services that provide retail operators a new level of insight into their operations. When integrated, these innovative products and services provide lower maintenance and energy costs, as well as improved reliability. Also included in the Intelligent Store architecture are Control Link® device controllers, Intelligent Store Discus® compressor, select Lennox® rooftop units, and other third party devices. Emerson Climate Technologies’ Retail Solutions Division also offers ProAct™, an enterprise management software suite, which helps retailers measure, manage and optimize energy, maintenance and operational performance across numerous stores from a single interface.