PHILADELPHIA — PaceControls recently helped a major retail chain cut its cooling costs 27 percent at one Midwest outlet by increasing the efficiency of its rooftop air conditioning units, generating more than an estimated $25,000 in annual energy savings for that one store.

PaceControls’ energy service company (ESCO) partner confirmed that these efficiency retrofits delivered a more than a 30-percent drop in gas consumption for gas-fired heating — generating another $25,000 in estimated annual savings, based on an analysis of degree-day normalized utility bills.

The combined estimate of more than $50,000 in annualized savings would mean a project payback of about a year for this supercenter retailer.

“This store had more than two dozen package units, all 10 years old or younger and in good repair and ranging in size from four to 25 tons,” said Dan Cook, senior vice president of PaceControls. “In our analysis, we used NOAA-calculated degree days for air conditioning energy consumption analysis. We first calculated a baseline average monthly kWh consumption based upon winter 2007 and 2008 electric data. These results are high in our typical range — typically we’ll see 15-25 percent — but not that unusual.”

The chain has budgeted hundreds of additional retrofits in its 2009 budget, noted Tom Mills, executive VP of PaceControls. He noted that the company has a growing number of joint product development initiatives with major OEMs to incorporate its technology into next-generation equipment. But, he said, “We’re still committed to saving money on the HVAC equipment you have. These days, that’s more important than ever.”

For more information, visit www.pacecontrols.com.

Publication date: 12/08/2008