Brackett’s Market IGA is a privately-owned grocery store in coastal Bath, Maine – ‘The City of Ships.’ The store is owned by Steve Brackett, who leverages 20 years of grocery experience from Kroger.
Steve met QM Power’s Kellan Draeger and Paul Ravenelle of Automated Building Systems (ABS) Energy Solutions at the Bozzuto’s Independent Retailer Conference, where they discussed rebate opportunities available to grocers like him through Efficiency Maine’s energy efficiency incentive programs. ABS, a seasoned Energy Services team with vast supermarket expertise, agreed to conduct a no-cost audit for Brackett’s.
Vast supermarket expertise
Steve’s goals for this project were to keep things fresh, moving, and visible while accruing maximum energy savings. Project: The audit revealed that the store had several opportunities for energy upgrades and improvements. While Brackett’s, like many other grocery stores, had previously upgraded to LED lighting, another huge opportunity for efficiency improvements lay in the next frontier of savings: refrigeration.
Energy savings measures included replacing all case, walk-in cooler, and freezer motors with ultra-efficient Q-Sync® motors, adding doors to open multi-deck cases, and incorporating aero-dynamic blades to shelves to direct air back into the cases, preventing cooling loss. Replacing existing 30-year-old electrical-commutated motor (ECM) technology with new Q-Sync® technology is the next biggest improvement stores can make after changing lighting from infrared or UV to LED. Because motors run continuously, the savings accrue in similar fashion.
Energy efficiency measures
Avoiding just one Refrigeration Contractor visit can save anywhere from $350 to $750
Ron Skilton of ABS says, “We install Q-Sync® motors in grocery stores where we want to help owners boost their profits through energy efficiency measures. A typical upgrade results in efficiencies of 40% or more which pays for the installation in about one year. We install only Q-Sync® motors due to this compelling ROI and ongoing reliability.”
Perhaps equally important to the store owner is the IP65 rating. Avoiding just one Refrigeration Contractor visit can save anywhere from $350 to $750 depending on the location. A typical store will experience several such incidents per year. These are unpredictable but very real recurring savings.
More peaceful atmosphere
Taking into account Steve’s goals for the project, ABS was able to make all of the efficiency upgrades without down-time in the store. Customers were able to stockup on fresh meat, dairy, and produce throughout the experience.
And the new store experience was enhanced with a clear view of fresh food items, warmer aisles, and a more peaceful atmosphere due to the quiet Q-Sync® motors. Steve Brackett began tracking his energy savings immediately, sending graphs to the ABS team to illustrate the impact on his ROI. The Q-Sync® motors, in particular, improved the energy bill right away. The upgrades made for a clear winning solution for Brackett’s Market.
