Convenience Store Energy Analytics: What Every Operator Needs to Know

Convenience stores and gas marts thrive on efficiency, in terms of location, product placement, and service. With long, often round-the-clock hours, food storage needs, and product turnover efficiency is key to making a convenience store more profitable; the devil is in these details. This includes energy usage, which is why more convenience stores are now partnering with energy as a service (EaaS) companies to improve their energy efficiency. 

Detailed planning and monitoring of merchandising and marketing are essential to a C-store's success. That same level of analytics and control can be applied to energy use. In big brand stores and independent chains, 24/7/365 energy use means non-stop opportunities to waste or save. But that means more than just following general energy saving tips for small businesses. 

Stores that sell food use more energy than general retail, averaging about 51.5 kilowatt-hours per square foot. Convenience stores can blow this number out of the water, burning as much as 94 kilowatt-hours per square foot with refrigerator and freezer cases, outdoor canopy lighting, coffee pots and other food-warming elements. 

Lowering energy usage can be difficult for convenience stores because long hours and energy-intensive machinery are non-negotiable features that attract customers. Partnering with an EaaS vendor or an energy efficiency company makes saving energy simple, without sacrificing store performance.  

How to lower energy use at convenience stores 

Upgrade to LED lighting 

At most C-stores, lights are kept on 24/7. Bright, well-lit stores attract customers and facilitate a safer environment for employees. However, from interior fixtures to outdoor canopy lights, lighting can lead to high levels of energy waste. Many C-stores use outdated fluorescent or halogen bulbs, which consume a lot of energy and have a short shelf life. Converting to LED lighting store-wide can lower energy usage from lighting by 50%. Plus, LEDs lights are more alethically pleasing, and installing them inside and outside your store can improves light quality for a better shopping and working experience.  

Optimize food refrigeration 

Food refrigeration plays a large role in how to make a convenience store more profitable. Even something as simple as a dead light bulb in a cold case can discourage sales. How much energy walk-in coolers use can make a big difference in your margins. Of course, there are some simple best practices that can prevent energy waste, like ensuring doors are shut when not in use. But there are new cutting-edge technologies that can take refrigeration energy savings to the next level.  

Smart refrigeration controls for convenience stores help boost the performance of commercial walk-in refrigerators and freezers. These advanced controls can be added to units to make sure they operate at peak efficiency and continuously monitor interior conditions, so product spoilage is kept at bay. 

Likewise, electronically commutated motors (ECMS) can be programmed to speed up or slow down based on your specific cooling needs. These are a vast improvement from evaporator fans, slip capacitors, and shaded-pole monitors traditionally used and can shave as much as two-thirds off energy consumption. 

Lastly, anti-sweat controls that monitor temperature and humidity in the store can prompt the heaters embedded in cooler and freezer doors to control condensation, potentially saving up to 50% of energy usage. 

Install high-efficiency HVAC systems 

Heating and cooling help keep customers and employees comfortable, and HVAC systems account for a significant portion of energy use in convenience stores. Lowering the energy consumed by this equipment can make a big difference in air quality, sustainability, customer satisfaction, and your bottom line.

Working with an EaaS company to upgrade you replace outdated units with ultra-high efficiency HVAC systems is the most effective way to achieve these savings. When you partner with Budderfly, you can get old units replaced with the best equipment on the market, typically with no upfront costs required, and access a preventative maintenance program that saves you money. These upgrades to your C-store infrastructure save you time and money and make your locations more efficient and sustainable.  

What you can learn from convenience store analytics 

All of these solutions help lower energy use, but on their own, they won’t help a convenience store owner on the analytics front. To get deep operational insights and data about your locations, you’ll also need smart technologies that track what is going on across your store.  

Metering is a technology used to measure the energy consumption of a building. Sub-metering goes a step further by tracking energy usage at every point of consumption. With sub-metering analytics, you can see how much energy one of your refrigerators is using vs. your lights or an HVAC unit. This level of tracking not only helps C-store owners understand where their costs are coming from; it can also help identify problems. If one piece of equipment suddenly has a spike in energy usage, it can be a signal that the machine needs maintenance.  

Another use-case for convenience store analytics is sustainability. If your store has environmental goals, or if you want to understand how much energy you are saving for eco-marketing, emissions data can be a helpful tool. Tracking your energy after installing energy-efficient equipment can provide concrete data around how much you’ve saved and how you’re lowering your carbon footprint. 

When you partner with Budderfly, you get all these convenience store analytics and more in our Customer Portal.  

Why consider energy as a service? 

While it’s possible to make small changes on your own, overhauling your lighting, refrigeration, and HVAC systems can be daunting, and most convenience store owners don’t have a lot of time and capital to risk. Budderfly uses a revolutionary energy-as-a-service model to make a comprehensive energy efficient transformation more accessible. We do so by installing industry-leading equipment and technology that drastically lowers energy usage, including LED lighting, new HVAC, refrigeration controls, smart thermostats, water conservation solutions, solar panels, and more. And we do it all with no upfront costs for standard installations.  

Our technology continuously monitors equipment, as well, to ensure everything is operating smoothly and to identify opportunities to optimize further savings. If any abnormalities are detected, we send out alerts so potential issues can be addressed before they become costly catastrophes. Partnering with Budderfly simplifies energy management and sustainability, setting your convenience store up for long-term success for a future that’s both bright... and efficient. To learn how we’ve helped convenience stores across the U.S. and see how we can help yours, contact one of our energy experts today.