Distribution – Efficient Energy Use

One of the largest electricity usage in businesses especially warehouse facilities or distribution centers goes for cooling system. When you purchase groceries, foods, and even some cans of soda, you realize that you are picking those things from cold storage which runs 24/7 and is powered by electricity. Now that e-commerce is skyrocketing in popularity and same-day delivery becomes a sought-after service, those warehouses and distribution centers play more important roles than before. They can maintain everything in fresh hygienic conditions, but they need good supply of electricity to do that. Based on a survey conducted by the U.S. Energy Information Administration in 2012, warehouse and storage facilities in the country spend almost 8 billion dollars on electricity alone. At that time, the survey analyzed energy consumption in 675,000 facilities.

Energy-saving Distribution Centers

When it comes to energy efficiency, the first thing that comes to mind is the electricity generated to turn on light bulbs, computers, printers, monitoring cameras and basically electric-powered appliances and devices. In reality, those electronics are not always in active state, lights are switched off during the day and computers are put to sleep when they’re not in use. However, cooling system must stay on all the time to keep everything fresh for immediate delivery and supply. According to the Energy Efficiency & Sustainability Consulting, there are several signs to indicate that a distribution facility needs an energy-efficient upgrade:

  • High utility cost: A typical energy-efficient upgrade can save business owners between 25 and 40 percent on electricity bills.
  • Extended hours of operation: Distribution centers or warehouse with long hours of operation have noticeable reduction on electricity bills after upgrade.
  • Old system: Conventional lighting and cooling system was not built for energy efficiency. Upgraded HVAC can bring instant savings.
  • High maintenance cost: When repairing an old system is more expensive than the cost for new installation, an upgrade is recommended.

Advanced Energy Management System (EMS) allows for constant and remote monitoring to help optimize energy usage based on needs. For example, an exhaust fan can be activated only when the CO2 level inside the distribution centers reaches certain threshold or cooling system in less-demanding areas can be turned down for savings. Such system makes it easier to control when to turn on cooling system and how long it runs, but it does not actually make the system itself run more efficiently.

Better Cooling System

In addition to EMS, an upgrade with the more environment-friendly energy-efficient cooling system can help reduce electricity bills and increase profitability. As the cost for storage is minimized, the return-on-investment becomes larger as well.

EcoCOOL® technology with synthetically engineered dual-catalyst system is designed to reduce equipment runtime without losing efficiency. It helps your cooling system to generate cool temperature more quickly and therefore save on electricity bills. EcoCOOL requires one-time installation and will last for the lifetime of the system, so no further upgrade is necessary.