Survey of Energy Use in Grocery Stores

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an energy use survey assembled for 93 grocery stores in south Texas. All stores were of the same chain. Several conclusions were drawn. Total electricity consumption per square foot is roughly 9 W/ft^2 for all stores, and varies by ± 2 W/ft^2. This seemed to be due to a set amount of refrigeration capacity in the stores. In this survey, stores built after 1979 had roughly 9% less energy consumption per ft^2 than those built before 1979. Heat reclamation from the refrigeration systems provided an adequate means of space heating most winter-time conditions. In many cases, stores used natural gas primarily for cooking. Grocery store energy use is divisible into components, some of which are dependent on store size and some of which are not, a more detailed analysis is required in order to determine key predictors of energy use.