March 18, 2020 - By Better Buildings

Hannaford Supermarkets' Brandon, Vermont Showcase Project

Hannaford Supermarkets operates more than 180 stores and employs more than 27,000 associates throughout Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. In 2015, Efficiency Vermont launched a Deep Retrofit pilot program to help Vermont businesses cut their energy consumption in half. Under the pilot program, Hannaford committed to reducing energy use by 50 percent at its Brandon, Vermont store. Utilizing incentives and technical support from energy experts at Efficiency Vermont, Hannaford was able to take a whole-building approach to understand the building’s energy usage and to develop a comprehensive plan to reduce energy waste and costs.

SOLUTIONS
Hannaford implemented energy efficiency improvements to the lighting, HVAC, plug loads, and refrigeration systems at the Brandon store. The supermarket also upgraded kitchen equipment, enhanced the building controls, and installed motion sensors to turn off the lights in grocery aisles without customers. In addition, Efficiency Vermont sub-metered multiple vendor-provided beverage coolers to identify the most energy-efficient model for the Brandon store. As a result, Hannaford developed a policy for all its stores in New England and New York requiring their vending partners to provide the most efficient beverage cases available.

Hannaford implemented 29 different Energy Conservation Measures at the Brandon store:

Refrigeration Improvements:

• Upgrade from shaded pole evaporator fan motors to electric motors in refrigerated cases
• Upgrade to evaporator fan motors at low-temp and medium-temp walk-ins
• Optimize refrigeration controls including floating head pressure
• Upgrade to new closed cases where cases were too old to optimize
• Upgrade from hot gas defrost to electronic defrost
• Close open low-temp cases by adding doors
• Upgrade produce cases to new efficient cases with doors
• Upgrade outdoor low-temp walk-in to more efficient unit with strip curtains, improved insulation, air sealing, lighting, and controls
• Close open deli, dairy, and beer cases by adding glass doors
• Anti-sweat heater control on low-temp frozen reach-in cases; heat disconnected from medium-temp cases
• Replace chicken display units
• Install night shades on medium-temp fresh meat cases; 44 linear feet

Heating, Cooling, and Ventilation Improvements:

• Add heat reclaim to recover waste heat from compressors to heat store
• Shut down extra produce evaporator unit and turn fans off
• Install destratification fans (sales floor and back room)
• Kitchen exhaust vent time-of-day control
• Upgrade from metal halide to LED lighting and controls 

Lighting Improvements

• Upgrade from metal halide to LED lighting and controls
• Commission lighting to dim when few staff are in store stocking at night
• Upgrade to LED parking lot lighting; control to only have one light on during night time hours when store is closed, but limited staff are working
• Turn interior lights and case lights off during unoccupied times if there are no occupancy sensors
• Decrease or eliminate 24/7 light fixtures
• Retrofit LEDs to reach-in frozen cases
• Install case motion detectors on all reach-in cases
• LEDs at front counter aisle lights

Kitchen Equipment Improvements:

• Upgrade to more efficient heat seal unit in deli
• Upgrade to more efficient heat seal unit in produce

Other Improvements:

• Upgrade to condensing propane hot water heater
• Engage store staff to optimize procedures/scheduling
• Add impact doors on receiving doorway

 OTHER BENEFITS

While participating in the deep energy retrofit pilot, Hannaford was also able to incorporate education and outreach to both its employees and the public. The store displayed informational posters about the project and hung up a “50% reduction thermometer” in the break room so that employees could see how the retrofits were progressing. Hannaford promoted energy efficiency to its customers with educational decals on the doors of refrigerated cases that noted the benefits of the LED lights installed in those cases.

Hannaford has completed numerous projects to improve energy efficiency across its portfolio of stores since 2012, including lighting and controls retrofits, refrigeration case night curtains, freezer coffin covers, doors to enclose open cases, LED case light retrofits and control, Green Chill Heat Recovery, heat seal units, and evaporator motors. Collectively, these projects are saving Hannaford more than 3.2 million kWh and $400,000 each year.

Better Buildings is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy designed to drive leadership in energy innovation. Through Better Buildings, DOE partners with leaders in the public and private sectors to make homes, commercial buildings and industrial plants more energy efficient by accelerating investment and sharing of successful best practices.

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