As the retail industry continues to adopt various energy management practices to reduce a major operational expense and meet corporate sustainability goals, a well-known national retail chain turned to Encycle’s unique cloud-based, energy-saving technology to reduce peak energy demand while maintaining stable and comfortable indoor temperatures for its customers.
Like many large retailers, this big-box chain had a lean facility management team responsible for maintaining multiple stores that ranged in size from 24,000 to 208,000 square feet. With building automation systems already in place, the team knew it still lacked insight and visibility into the performance of its HVAC equipment and needed an achievable cost reduction plan – one that wouldn’t require much of their time or any capital investment in costly equipment. They were also missing out on revenue opportunities by not fully participating in demand response programs offered by utility companies throughout the country.
Encycle supports large-scale retailers with its flagship Swarm Logic® technology that has been proven to reduce annual HVAC energy costs and consumption by 10%-20% for typical customers. The savings Encycle helps its customers enjoy are in addition to those being realized by building automation systems and third-party monitoring services.
The “swarm” concept involves the dynamic synchronization of a building’s HVAC rooftop units (RTUs), making them part of a cloud-based network of smart IoT-connected equipment. The patented solution not only monitors the activity of multiple RTUs but also uses proprietary algorithms to analyze and interpret data to deliver operating instructions to the HVAC units in response to changing outdoor temperatures and other variable factors.
The details of the big-box department store chain’s HVAC energy savings are featured in a new Encycle case study that covers:
- Unique challenges of the large retail chain
- Swarm Logic installation and site details
- Total annual savings in terms of dollars, peak demand, and kWh reduction
- Demand response (DR) incentives added as a result of Swarm Logic’s ability to simplify DR tasks
Click here to view or download the case study.
Contributing author: Chris Hensley, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Encycle Corporation
