Supermarkets, grocery stores and convenience stores have the second highest energy consumption of major building types in California, with electricity representing over 80% of this, and with energy-intensive refrigeration consuming the greatest fraction of electricity.

A building may contain a vast array of efficiency measures, or it may be old and inefficient. Either way, the electricity used in the building will likely be produced with inherent inefficiencies. The efficiency of fossil fuel based electricity production averages 34% (although new combined cycle plants can exceed 50% efficiency). The ultimate efficiency of any building pulling electricity from the grid is limited by that number.

Though more costly to install and more complicated to operate, a chiller plant offers a number of benefits over simple packaged cooling units, including greater energy efficiency, better controllability, and longer life.

Centrifugal pumps perform many important functions to control the built environment. The physics and basic mechanics of pumps have not changed substantially in the last century.

To truly minimize the energy use of a drivepower system-which includes the motor, its controls, and the connection between the motor and the equipment it drives-designers need to consider how these components operate as a system rather than looking at them on an individual basis.

Evaporative coolers provide cool air by forcing hot dry air over a wetted pad. The water in the pad evaporates, removing heat from the air while adding moisture. Although the concept has been used in residential "swamp" coolers in the Southwest for decades, technology advances have made evaporative cooling a viable alternative to conventional cooling in commercial buildings and in other areas of the country.

Energy costs are a significant expense for facilities that operate industrial refrigeration systems. In new construction projects, significant energy savings can be achieved by incorporating energy efficiency technologies in the project design. For facilities being expanded or upgraded, ensuring the efficiency of the refrigeration systems can lead to significant energy savings without compromising productivity.

Process heating is a significant source of energy consumption in the industrial and manufacturing sectors, and it often results in a large amount of waste heat that is discharged into the atmosphere.

Compressed air - commonly called the fourth utility - is in high demand in most industrial facilities. Despite its widespread application, however, up to two-thirds of the compressed air systems in operation have either an obvious problem that affects production or a hidden problem that drives compressed air production costs higher.

This brief explores techniques for identifying and solving pump system problems commonly encountered in existing buildings during retro-commissioning processes.

Demand response (DR) refers to a mechanism that encourages customers to reduce or shift their electric power usages under certain conditions to help utilities to overcome temporary constraints in the electricity supply.

The kitchen ventilation system is one of the largest energy-consuming end uses of a commercial food service facility. In a typical restaurant, the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system represents 20 to 30 percent of total energy consumption. The kitchen ventilation system can account for up to 50 percent of that HVAC load.

New high-intensity fluorescents outshine their high-intensity discharge competitors. They are often more efficient and feature lower lumen depreciation rates, better dimming options, instant start-up, and better color rendition.

Energy-saving procedures at Mission Foods' new Production Facility in Rancho Cucamonga have helped the company save more than $300,000 per year in operating costs.

By properly designing the exhaust ventilation system for a new commercial restaurant, significant operational savings, energy efficiency, and environmental improvements can be achieved.