How retailers are reducing the cost of running their air conditioning units
Even before Ukraine was invaded, electricity prices were on the rise. According to an analysis by Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the leading energy and environmental advocate for families and businesses, “America’s businesses and manufacturers can expect to pay at least $41.4 billion more for business-related energy costs in 2022”.
The bad news goes on: “Federal policies have discouraged US energy production, cancelled critical infrastructure, created inconsistent and confusing regulations, and, often, impractical solutions leading to unreliable and more harmful environmental energy delivery”.
Of course, businesses are always looking for ways to reduce their energy consumption and many have the basics in place such as installing smart lights with LED bulbs which use motion sensors. But there’s much more that can be done to deliver real savings, across your entire footprint – boosting your bottom line.
At NexRev, we specialize in reducing a facility’s energy waste. One of our focuses is reducing the energy consumption of existing commercial air conditioning units, which are found in large numbers on the rooftops of nearly all retail, entertainment, and dining sites. Energy waste is prevalent on such units.
One solution NexRev can provide is DrivePak, which you can read more about in our earlier blogs: Commercial Air Conditioners, Wasted Energy – and How NexRev Fits in and Reducing the Fan Speeds of Your Commercial HVAC Units is Easier than You Think – and Will Immediately Cut Energy Consumption.
In the latter blog we discuss the savings already made by Conn’s HomePlus and Big Lots through the installation of DrivePak.
We have many more retail customers who are achieving similar returns.
How a large retailer reduced the cost of running its air conditioning units
With hundreds of stores across the country, our customer is one of America’s largest, and best loved, retailers. Publicly listed, its mission is to grow, improve and deliver shareholder value. As with all successful firms, there’s a pro-active focus on both CAPEX and OPEX.
The company has been retrofitting DrivePak into its commercial packaged DX rooftop units for eight years with thousands of units now installed across its stores.
Its problems were the same as those faced by most other commercial buildings: AC units were configured for max climate conditions and operate at a constant blower speed to meet these conditions. These machines have years of remaining usable life left. However, they need to be upgraded to make them as efficient, if not more efficient, than more modern ACs.
After almost eight years, the figures speak for themselves:
- 28,700,000 kwh saved
- >$3 million in reduced energy costs
- Simple payback of each DrivePak is just 1.2 years or less
And, of course, as energy prices continue to increase, the ROI improves. In addition, the greater the motor horsepower, the greater the savings.
Nevertheless, the bottom line is that energy costs are rising, and organizations of all sizes should be evaluating all their electrical items.
With DrivePak we have a proven, measurable approach for HVAC units that delivers a rapid ROI.
Getting started towards lower energy consumption, a lower bill – and an energy waste conscious organization
To start the conversation about how you can reduce energy consumption, and do your bit to slow down energy waste, please send a message to:
If you’d like to read our white paper “Facts every energy manager needs to know” or the case study about how DrivePak has helped Conn’s HomePlus to achieve 26% Energy Reduction with 47% ROI, then please also send an email to