Success Story
Maryland Food Bank
Multiple Locations
Maryland Food Bank has slashed their electric bill by a combined $39,000 per year across their three locations. And Remote Site Manager has provided them with 24/7 oversight into the refrigeration's operation, helping them avoid food loss.
The Maryland Food Bank was on the hunt for two things: more operational efficiency, and more visibility into whether or not their equipment’s performance was meeting their goals. Being a food bank, naturally they investigated whether their walk-in coolers and freezers could provide opportunities for energy efficiency without it jeopardizing the safety and quality of their stored perishable product.
They were also looking for products/services that could help them better manage all of their facilities. In particular, they wanted to be able to gleam more insight from their refrigeration’s operation—they had basic temperature monitoring but wanted something more in-depth like their other BMS.
NRM was able to optimize the refrigeration performance of 15 separate walk-in coolers and freezers across three facilities for the Maryland Food Bank. The optimizations included implementing smart thermostatic controls, replacing existing motors with high-efficiency EC versions, anti-sweat door heater controls, and smart electric defrost that drastically reduces the occurrence of iced up coils.
The solution also provides crucial performance data that they simply had no way of accessing before. Through the Remote Site Manager™ dashboard, they’re able to view the operating statistics of how their systems are running in real-time. This created a better way to support the efforts of their refrigeration technicians in addressing potential issues before they become emergencies. They went from reactive to proactive in handling refrigeration issues.
Another benefit they’ve seen since implementing NRM’s solution is the peace of mind it has instilled with regards to food safety and quality. Remote Site Manager™ delivers via email or text message timely, actionable alerts for temperature issues or mechanical problems. It also tracks, logs, and collates temperature and operational data for any kind of food regulatory requirements. It has essentially removed the human-error element from product safety.
Industry
Food Service
Location
Baltimore, MD
Hagerstown, MD
Salisbury, MD
Implemented Measures
- CoolTrol refrigeration controls
- Remote Site Manager
- EC Motor Upgrades
- Anti-Sweat Door Heater controls
- Adaptive Electric Defrost
Average Utility Incentive
50% of Project Cost
Average Payback
2 Years
Annual Energy Savings
292,500 kWh
Annual Dollar Savings
$39,000
"The energy savings have definitely been noticeable! Our electric bill has decreased about 25% since NRM optimized our coolers. But the biggest benefit has been Remote Site Manager. It’s great to be made aware of mechanical issues that might otherwise go unnoticed in between the quarterly preventative maintenance calls. And the visual diagnostics on the dashboard are a great help in explaining to the technicians exactly what’s going on when they do need to come out."
— Adria, Facilities Manager
