If you are running a business that is dependent on commercial refrigeration whether you are running a restaurant or a commercial store one of the key things that you can do to strip down on costs is to work out the way of saving money from your bills.
Commercial refrigeration is expensive, especially at the time of writing in 2023 as the cost of energy is going up dramatically.
We are going to give you some tips that will help you if you are looking to save money generally on your energy bill and more specifically with your commercial refrigeration. There are a few steps that you can take to make sure that you are optimizing your energy use and it may be easier than you think.
NOTE: If you just want the solution to save money from commercial refrigeration – have a look at CUES and how it can save you up to 43% percent on refrigeration.
First Steps To Saving Is Monitoring Energy Usage:
Commercial refrigeration can be expensive, and it will also have to work very hard in terms of energy. You will of course find that it will work harder during the summer months and most refrigeration systems play safe by making sure that they are too cold rather than the scenario where they would be too warm.
This can lead to using a lot of energy. In fact, if you have older commercial refrigeration systems you will find that sometimes they can use excessive energy as the filters become worn and it is having to work even harder to maintain the same temperature.
You will find energy-saving units have come a long way, the very first thing that you could consider is to install and energy-saving verified refrigeration system. These would use less energy and can be a way of saving on costs overall.
However, you then have the cost of the unit and the installation to worry about.
We will give you some tips on strategies that you can use to make sure that your refrigeration systems are running optimally, we will then suggest a way that you can save money on energy bills.
Clean:
This may sound like an obvious step, however one of the first things that you can do to make sure that you refrigeration system is not having to take such a strain is to clean thoroughly. This means cleaning inside and outside. You pay special attention to the filters and to make sure that there is no build-up of dust. This will give you the best chance of making sure that the motor is not having to run excessively to be able to produce the same result.
You should also pay special attention to the coils, the filter and the air intake as these are areas where dust can accumulate and cause your refrigeration system to have to work harder in order to give you the same effect.
Level:
This is very important, and it can help to make sure that your refrigeration systems are perfectly level, if they have come slightly off kilter over time this can cause the motor to have to work harder. Essentially with both of these tips that involve cleaning and making sure that your refrigeration system is level it will allow it to work without having to use quite as much energy.
Position:
Make sure you think about where you refrigeration systems are positioned, if they are in an area that requires more energy to keep them cooler it will of course cost more on your bills. Where possible make sure that you refrigeration systems are not near any heating systems. Otherwise, you can end up with a problem with both systems. The heating system is having to work extra hard to keep everything warm, while your refrigeration is having to work hard to keep the temperature cool.
Overstock:
Make sure that you do not keep your refrigeration system overstocked. If you find that the system is overstocked, then again this is cause to make the system work extra hard and it can lead to excessive energy consumption.
Regular service:
This again is a very obvious step but absolutely essential. You must make sure that your service is carried out regularly, they will commonly check all of the working parts and they will of course change the filters if needed which will actually use less energy. Although it is a direct cost it will actually cause you to use less energy overall and save money.
Final Thoughts:
If you are looking to save money on your energy bills, then carrying out the steps above as routine maintenance will definitely help. Chances are you will find one of the methods above will have a positive effect on the amount of money that you are spending and the amount of energy that you are using.
If you want to take this further be virtually guaranteed to save money, then we would highly recommend an energy bill.
Install Energy Monitoring:
You will find that if you installed the system that will help you to identify energy consumption and also energy waste this is the first step to being able to see how much energy that you are using, this also works very well with commercial refrigeration.
By seeing a snapshot of exactly how much energy that you are using you will be in a far better spot to be able to optimize and save money.
We highly recommend setting up a business management system that will help you with this, especially if you find that you have energy-saving refrigeration, and it is still not saving you money.
Energy Optimization:
If you want to take this further you can install a system such as the Eniscope Air that will allow you to have a building management system at the fraction of the cost that you would normally associate with a BMS.
While this will allow you to monitor energy use it will also be able to schedule and automate energy savings by letting you know the times when you can save and then optimizing to do this automatically.
The beauty of installing a good building management system is that the maintenance is prescheduled, and you will also be able to get a good idea of when an asset is about breakdown and will help save you money in the long run.
Here at coolersavings.com we have a range of products that are lightweight, fast to install and not unsightly.
This means that you can just focus on saving energy therefore saving money from your energy bills.
We use the SMART approach.
Survey:
This will give you a fast analysis on site with our proprietary mobile app.
Monitor:
you will be able to get precise energy use and misuse monitoring using Eniscope.
Analyze:
You will get real-time cloud analysis of trends that uses software platform.
Reduce:
You will be able to reduce interruption of savings opportunities using retrofit technologies.
Review:
Nodal analysis and comprehensive reporting to influence decision-making.
Target:
You will be able to sustain and improve performance by setting goals and verifying success with everything recorded.
Action Plan To Start Saving Energy On Refrigeration Costs:
The following will give you a simple action plan on how to save money on your refrigeration costs. You can also view our complete energy savings checklist for more help.
Clean and Position:
As suggested above, carry out a thorough clean of your refrigeration units. Make sure that you pay special attention to the filters, the air intake and the coils. This is something that can be put into action relatively quickly and will give you quite a large payoff in regard to money saved if the coils and filters are blocked.
Level and Position:
Make sure that they are all level. Over time while working they can move off kilter and this will essentially cause the refrigeration unit to have to work harder. It is well worth checking the level and that they are all set up correctly.
Make sure that they are also positioned correctly, obviously anything in front of the air intake is going to affect the refrigeration unit and cause it to work harder. The other action that you can take straightaway is to make sure that the units are positioned, where possible away from a warm part of the store or the kitchen. Sometimes, this is not possible based on layout, but it will cause the refrigeration unit to work harder if it is in a warm area.
Regular Service:
No-one wants to pay extra for servicing. However, this can be paramount, and you can save money from your bills by making sure that your filters are up-to-date and that you have the best set up. It may well be worth checking when you next service is due or booking one in if you want a quick way to check everything is in running order.
Get A BMS Installed!
This is our top suggestion! Here at Optimizet we can help you and install energy monitoring devices and also optimization devices quickly and easily. Most of the time people are put off by the cost, or the aggravation around lengthy installation procedures. We are pleased to let you know that when you work with us both of these points will not be an issue.
Click here to have a free consultation with us and we will also show you case studies where we have saved money from commercial refrigeration working with some top brands!
Conclusion:
Commercial refrigeration can be very pricey especially now with rising energy costs. Before you start looking into buying new equipment, if you have already tried the suggestions above and you are still spending excessive energy then we highly recommend booking in a call with Optimzet and seeing if we can help.
We will also give you an indication of how much you can save by showing you past clients that have save money from the commercial refrigeration.
Whether you are a restaurant looking to save on costs, or a mass consumer store or even a small convenience store we can help you save money on your bills quickly and easily and show you how you can monitor costs effectively.
We would love to have a discussion if you are looking to save money on your commercial refrigeration costs...
Top Questions Around Saving On Commercial Refrigeration:
Q: How much energy does a commercial refrigerator use?
A: Typical commercial refrigerators consume up to 17,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity while large commercial freezers consume up to 38,000 kilowatt-hours, resulting in high energy bills. Source: https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/6-energy-saving-tips-commercial-refrigerators-and-freezers
Q: What is considered commercial refrigeration?
A: Commercial refrigeration is any refrigeration device used in a commercial setting.
Q: How long does a commercial refrigerator last?
A: With regular servicing you will be looking at around 10 years on average.
Q: How efficient are commercial refrigerators?
A: If you combine the above with an energy star rated refrigerator that will give you the biggest savings. You will find that energy star refrigeration is around 20% more efficient.