Danfoss has announced that Mars Super Markets, headquartered in Baltimore, Md., is the winner of its first EnVisioneer of the Year award competition.

The announcement was made following the Danfoss EnVisioneering Symposium, “Rx: Systems Approach to Net Zero,” held at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

According to a statement from Danfoss, Mars initiated an energy-efficiency program to reduce costs and improve operations at its facilities in the greater Baltimore area.  The company met its objective through multiple rebate offerings from the Baltimore Gas & Electric Smart Energy Savers program, managed by ICF-International. Rebates totaled $226,750, with an estimated payback of 2.36 years.

Mars saved more than 3 million kilowatt-hours per year at its retail stores, distribution center, and corporate headquarters, Danfoss said. The company installed LED lights, used Danfoss anti-sweat heater controls on its refrigeration cases, and employed Danfoss variable-frequency drives on motors that run its heating and cooling systems.

“We wanted to recognize a Danfoss customer who exemplifies the core values of EnVisioneering and uses our products to realize significant energy and environmental savings,” said Robert Wilkins, president of Danfoss North America. “Mars clearly met the objectives of the EnVisioneer of the Year competition and is real- izing the benefits of the BG&E Smart Energy Savers program. We applaud their efforts.”

Rick Snyder, director of store development for Mars, noted that the anti-sweat heaters, which help prevent moisture build-up from obstructing the opening and closing of the refrigeration cases, often run 24/7 and consume a lot of energy. “With our Danfoss energy management system, we can control the heaters based on the humidity inside the store,” Snyder said. “For example, if the story humidity is 15 percent, we can run the heaters just three minutes out of 15. If the humidity is high, say 53 percent, then we’ll run the heaters 12 minutes out of 15. The savings with this type of program just made good sense.”

To recognize Mars’ achievement, Wilkins and Michael Ivanovich, president of The Ivanovich Group and head of the EnVisioneer of the Year judging panel, presented Snyder with a crystal trophy at a private reception in the Library of Congress. In addition, Danfoss donated $5,000 on behalf of Mars Super Markets to the Alliance to Save Energy.

Publication date: 06/28/2010