The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC), a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to advancing the adoption ofclimate-friendly refrigerants in supermarkets, recently welcomed Supermarket Environmental Services Co. (SESCO) as a silver member.
SESCO is a design firm with a wholistic approach to supermarket and restaurant HVAC systems,integrating system design and equipment procurement with energy management and commissioning services. SESCO’s energy management expertise has helped more supermarkets qualify for Energy Star than any other U.S. company, leading to more than 1,000 certifications.
“The supermarket industry is facing increasing competition from every angle, shifting consumer trends, and increasingly slim margins,” said Jeff Ollis, Director of Sales for SESCO.“SESCO understands the interaction of supermarket energy systems, leveraging HVAC and controls design to enable a grocer's ability to meet customer needs while reducing energy and maintenance expenses.”
As global regulations drive towards phasing out high global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants, supermarkets have turned to alternative options, such as natural refrigerants, withzero or near-zero GWP. The NASRC works with over 120 supermarket stakeholders to eliminate the barriersslowing natural refrigerant adoption, such as upfront costs, uncertainty around energy performance and other lifecycle costs, and a shortage of technicians trained to work with natural refrigerants.
The supermarket industry has seen a growth in demand for low-GWP refrigerant technologies. But as the demand increases, many food retailers are seeking solutions and technologies that are both low-GWP AND improve the total energy performance of their facilities.
Both factors are important when considering the Total Equivalent Warming Impact (TEWI) of a supermarket, which accounts for both the “direct” emissions of a refrigerant and the “indirect” emissions from energy use.Pairing low-GWP refrigerants with improved energy performance of a facilityhas the power to reduce the TEWI of that facility significantly, contributing to sustainability objectives and potential cost savings from energy gains.
“Energy efficiency is a critical component to reducing overall cost,” said Danielle Wright, executive director of the NASRC. “Optimizing the performance of natural refrigerant systems not only gives supermarkets greater certainty around lifecycle costs, but it also opens up new opportunities for funding support to offset upfront cost premiums. We look forward to leveraging SESCO’s energy management expertise.”
“We really appreciate the approach the NASRC is taking with regards to Natural Refrigerants,” said Ollis.“Their focus on discovering and removing obstacles is innovative and effective. They are helping to make multidiscipline connections across the supermarket industry, which accelerates the development of sustainable systems.”
In addition to SESCO, NASRC is supported by a strong network of members, which represents over 24,000 supermarket locations in North America, major equipment manufacturers, service contractors, and other stakeholders.