Work from home. Shelter in place. Reduce public activities. Practice social distancing. Be vigilant. These will forever be the 2020 buzzwords for the COVID-19 pandemic. How is your grocery store supposed to operate in the middle of a pandemic? As Facility Managers or someone responsible for store operations, you’re very likely under intense pressure to …

Continue reading “COVID-19: What Questions are You Asking as a Grocery Store Facility Manager?”

How many times are you asked to produce results for the projects you invest in and spend countless hours trying to prove you were justified in your recommendation?

With new enhancements to the kWh360 Energy Tracking Suite, this is as simple as clicking a few buttons.

We provide 3 different ways to track your results, through simple graphs and charts.

Medina, MN (September 26, 2015): Even for engineers with long experience in remodeling supermarkets, the size and speed of the energy savings came as a surprise.

Even for engineers with long experience in remodeling supermarkets, the size and speed of the energy savings came as a surprise.

Just two months after they finished a big project, energy use in one store dropped by 35%.

No less surprised was the supermarket’s electric utility provider. An account executive there wrote the retailer’s energy manager to suggest that an electricity meter may not be working properly. These innovations help organizations set priorities for efficiency projects based on sustainability goals, speed of payback, and the measured return on investment. Contact Singh360 to see if these innovations fit with your facility and energy management strategy going forward.

Minneapolis, MN (September 26, 2015): The 38-store grocery chain Strack & Van Til (SVT) has reduced its use of electricity by 26.6% in a two-store pilot program begun in 2014. Overall, the chain cut electricity use by 11.5% in stores open more than a year.

“It was critical for us to reduce one of our largest controllable expenses,” said Andy Raab, vice president real estate at SVT, LLC, which owns and operates Strack & Van Til. “We wanted to save money because we have an aggressive remodeling plan in the works.”

Grocers must also understand energy-efficient technologies such as variable-frequency drives (VFDs), electrically commutated (EC) motors, LED lighting, and door retrofitting, Singh said. Finally, they must understand how to communicate with their control systems through virtual private networks (or VPNs).

“Many retailers don’t have all these capabilities in house”, Singh said. “That’s why it makes sense for them to work with a one-stop shop where they can hire all the skills they need.”

By applying seven easy rules of thumb, you can quickly estimate potential energy savings for refrigeration systems in a supermarket—even if you’re not an engineer.

With these rules you can make quick estimates in your head or on the back of an envelope. Your estimates are likely to be pretty accurate, even without a detailed audit. This information can help you spot big opportunities for potential savings. You’ll feel smart, and you may impress your colleagues.

With these rules you can make quick estimates in your head or on the back of an envelope. Your estimates are likely to be pretty accurate, even without a detailed audit. This information can help you spot big opportunities for potential savings. You’ll feel smart, and you may impress your colleagues.

But be careful. These rules of thumb use averages for North American supermarkets. Even within North America, the numbers will vary for stores that have an unusual design or sell an unusual assortment of refrigerated foods.

Maple Grove, MN (January 14, 2013) — Supermarket operators in Minnesota will have even more incentive to improve their energy efficiency after January 2013, when utility Xcel Energy increases its rates for retail electricity by an average of about 9%.

Xcel Energy has also requested rate increases of similar size in five other states, including New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.

The Minnesota rate increase is an interim measure, pending a regulatory ruling on Xcel’s request for a permanent rate increase later in 2013.

“A typical grocery store of 50,000 square feet spends about $225,000 a year on electricity,” says Abtar Singh, chief executive officer of Singh360, a facility-management consulting firm that helps supermarket chains and other retailers improve energy efficiency. “The 9% rate increase will add about $20,000 of expense per store per year,

Maple Grove, MN (September 5, 2012): Grocery retailers can reduce energy cost and help protect the global environment by operating refrigeration systems that use carbon dioxide (CO2) rather than more commonly used refrigerants. This will be the topic of a presentation at the FMI Energy and Store Development Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, on September 12.

rocery retailers can reduce energy cost and help protect the global environment by operating refrigeration systems that use carbon dioxide (CO2) rather than more commonly used refrigerants. This will be the topic of a presentation at the FMI Energy and Store Development Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, on September 12.

In contrast to CO2 systems, most other refrigeration systems appear much more likely to increase the risk of global climate change by releasing chemicals that tend to trap heat within earth’s atmosphere.

The presentation at FMI will include Abtar Singh, President of Singh360 Inc., and executives from Target Corporation, Sobey’s Inc., and Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market. Participating speakers will discuss their experience with CO2-based refrigeration systems.

Singh360, a full service facility management consulting firm, provides cost effective “LEED Modeling” services to supermarket and grocery retailers.  A typical commercial building consumes most of the energy in air-conditioning (HVAC) and lighting.

The design and efficiency improvement recommendations are backed by Sing360’s rich field experience in HVAC, refrigeration and control systems. Singh360 helps your organization prioritize your efficiency projects, giving emphasis on your sustainability goals and timely returns of investment.

Singh360 Energy software and services range from building-envelope assessments to complete design of mechanical and electrical systems (including HVAC, lighting and refrigeration systems) for new and existing buildings using mobile and cloud app from kWh360 Inc.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT PROTOCOLS WHILE SELECTING A BUILDING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (BMS)?   Protocols are languages by which two devices communicate and exchange data.  These devices are microprocessor-based products, such as an input/output board, roof top unit controller (RTU), Chiller controller, user’s laptop/desktop computer or even central enterprise servers.  The picture below shows that

Maple Grove, MN (June 26, 2011): Singh360, a full service facility management consulting firm, announced a partnership with Energy Squared LLC to provide design and engineering services to commercial and industrial customers in the United States and overseas markets.

Energy Squared, LLC is a full service energy design consultant firm. Located in North Brunswick, New Jersey, the firm provides mechanical, electrical and plumbing designs, specifications, building performance modeling, energy simulations and renewable energy services. From the initial analysis to completing the project and obtaining the applicable rebates and incentives, Energy Squared will expedite each step of the process using life cycle costing to minimize the total cost of ownership.