At Lime Energy, we help utilities around the country bring energy efficiency to their small business customers. With over 15,000 completed projects to date, we have learned a lot about the unique needs of small business customers. For the next 8 weeks, we will take a look at several small business types and uncover their potential for energy savings. In many cases, these businesses are eligible for incentives from their utility to cover a large portion of the project cost, making the long-term benefits of energy efficiency even more attainable.
Grocery and Convenience Stores:
The average grocery store in America spends $4 per square foot in in energy costs per year. Believe it or not, that annual power bill equates to 1% of the total operating cost BUT almost 100% of the average profit margin. The savings possibilities from energy efficiency are therefore quite dramatic. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, every dollar of energy savings is equal to increasing sales by $59. That means that a 20% reduction in energy costs can mean a 20% increase in profits!
Lighting and refrigeration account for the bulk of total energy use, and therefore present the most opportunities for savings.
There are several low to no-cost measures that grocery stores can implement to reduce energy expenditures:
Long-term energy efficiency solutions:
From incentive programs to equipment rebates and recycling, local utilities may provide assistance in determining how best to implement energy efficiency solutions. To learn more about programs available in your area, click here to visit our Small Business Energy Efficiency page today.
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