Success Story
Racers Food Store
Graniteville, SC
Racers Food Store has slashed their electric bill by roughly $5,400 per year. By year 10, they'll have recouped roughly $55,000 in profits and over 400,000 kWh that otherwise would've been spent on energy use.
Like many independent business owners, Happy Singh was interested in cutting costs for his food mart. In the competitive environment of food retail, hours are long and margins are thin, so any relief from anywhere was a welcomed change. But one area where Mr. Singh was less aware he could see some financial relief was his trio of walk-in coolers. It wasn’t apparent to him that his refrigeration systems did not need to operate at full capacity at all times. His coolers are paramount to his business, of course, and so their ability to keep his beverages at the right temperature could not be compromised.
Mr. Singh turned to the Small Business Energy Program offered by SCE&G for help improving the operational efficiency of the systems. Through the program, Mr. Singh was paired with NRM, the exclusive refrigeration contractor for SCE&G.
“I was skeptical at first. A lot of companies offer to save you money and don’t,” he said. However, when SCE&G offered up to 80% incentives for Mr. Singh to undertake the energy efficiency project, he knew NRM was the real deal.
As a custom project in the Small Business Energy Program, NRM was able to upgrade each of Mr Singh’s systems. These upgrades included CoolTrol®—NRM’s award-winning smart controls that adapts your cooler or freezer’s operation to your specific business needs—LED lighting upgrades, high-efficiency EC motor replacements, and anti-sweat door heater controls.
All of the components are manufactured and tested in our state-of-the-art facility, and then installed by licensed, in-house technicians. Our technicians are the exclusive installers for refrigeration measures in the Small Business Energy Program.
Mr. Singh noticed energy savings from day one, and the entire solution paid for itself in full within 2 years. His electric bill has been trimmed by roughly $5,000 per year. Extrapolated over the next five years, Mr. Singh will recoup nearly $25,000 and over 200,000 kWh that otherwise would have been spent on unnecessary energy consumption.
Industry
Independent Retail
Location
Graniteville, SC
Implemented Measures
- CoolTrol refrigeration controls
- EC Motor Upgrades
- Lighting Upgrades
- Anti-Sweat Door Heater controls
Utility Incentive
80% of Project Cost
Simple Payback
1.5 Years
Annual Energy Savings
42,000 kWh
Annual Dollar Savings
$5,400
"I am very happy with both the product and the achieved energy savings. NRM’s solution was appealing to me because of the potential long-term benefit — after five years, I’ll have retained almost $20,000 in wasted utility costs. Through SCE&G’s small business program, NRM was able to get me an 80% incentive. This really helped make the decision easy!"
— Happy Singh, Owner
