ECN publication
Title:
Closed supermarket refrigerator and freezer cabinets: a feasibility study
 
Author(s):
 
Published by: Publication date:
ECN Energy in the Built Environment 27-11-2007
 
ECN report number: Document type:
ECN-E--07-098 ECN publication
 
Number of pages: Full text:
24 Download PDF  

Abstract:
The City of Amsterdam's Environmental & Building Department commissioned the Energy re-search Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) to calculate the time needed to recoup the cost of clos-ing the existing refrigerator and freezer display cabinets used in supermarkets. We were asked to give particular consideration to the following aspects; 1. The cabinet's energy consumption 2. The energy price 3. The cost of closing the cabinet The payback period has been calculated by dividing the investment required to close the cabinet by the amount saved on energy each year, less any additional costs incurred as a result of the scheme. For existing upright refrigerator cabinets, that period works out at 2.9 years with a margin of er-ror of ±0.9 years. In the case of chest freezers, it is approximately 2.4 years, with a maximum of 2.5 and a minimum of 1.3 years. For chest refrigerators, the payback period is 9.4 years. If units are closed overnight only, the time needed to payback the cost of that measure ranges between 1.8 and 4.1 years. Moreover, research shows that closing refrigerator and freezer display units will not reduce turnover. In addition, it will significantly improve the ambient climate in supermarkets.


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