Price Chopper is one of the largest grocery chains in the Kansas City metro area. Through its contractor, Design Mechanical, Inc., Price Chopper participated in a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored demonstration project to measure energy savings when upgrading from existing shaded pole and electronically commutated motors (ECMs) in refrigeration cases to the Q-Sync® smart, synchronous motor made by QM Power.
Process
The demonstration involved conducting a detailed energy audit of the refrigeration equipment in the store to analyze current energy usage.
The audit was followed by a head-to-head comparison to measure the energy savings after replacing two incumbent shaded pole motors in a produce case with the Q-Sync® motors.
Results
Oak Ridge National Labs performed the measurement and verification for the program. The findings of the report confirmed Q-Sync® as the highest efficiency motor for commercial refrigeration applications.
Outcome
The reduction in energy usage from retrofitting the produce case with a Q-Sync® motor was an astounding 78.4%, with an average of 81.9% amps saved.
The high potential for energy savings throughout the store prompted Price Chopper to retrofit the entire store as well as several other locations with Q-Sync® motors. Price Chopper also received utility rebates that have helped them reduce retrofit costs and improve their ROI.