Austin, Texas — ALDI has successfully deployed Siemens’ Site Controls Energy Management System (EMS) at nearly 1,500 of its retail locations. The majority of the EMS installations were retrofits at existing stores where thermostats or third-party energy management systems were replaced, but Siemens also installed its Site Controls EMS in newly constructed stores.
This energy management program will leverage advanced cloud-based technology to build upon the grocer’s previous initiatives to reduce carbon emissions, such as the installation of solar panels, at dozens of retail stores and four distribution centers.
The Site Controls EMS reduces energy usage at stores by monitoring and/or controlling key energy-consuming devices such as HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) units, indoor lighting, store signage, indoor and outdoor temperature sensors, and refrigeration units. The EMS also monitors energy output and performance of on-site solar panels.
Complementing store-level optimization is the Site Controls Enterprise Portal, a cloud-based data analytics platform that provides the grocer enterprise-level dashboards, KPIs and outlier reporting to quickly pinpoint and resolve issues that would otherwise drive excessive consumption or negatively impact customer comfort. The system can also help ALDI lower maintenance costs by streamlining identification of problems, intelligently dispatching, and remotely validating work performed by HVAC service technicians.
ALDI selected Siemens after an initial 16-site pilot in 2012 validated the Site Controls system’s ability to reduce consumption at its stores, and a 180-site rollout in 2013 demonstrated that results could be replicated across an entire region. By working closely together, ALDI and Siemens were able to successfully install the remaining sites in less than 10 months. ALDI will also install the Site Controls system in new stores as it continues to expand across the U.S.
With the Site Controls EMS now installed, ALDI anticipates reducing carbon emissions by an additional 29,000 metric tons per year — the annual equivalent of removing 6,100 cars from the road or of providing electricity for 4,000 homes. The energy cost savings associated with the project also exceeded ALDI’s capital investment criteria, providing a favorable return on investment (ROI).
“ALDI is a respected global leader with a commitment to sustainability,” says Marcus Boerkei, general manager of the retail and commercial systems group at Siemens’ Building Technologies Division. “We are proud to support its emission reduction efforts and look forward to delivering even greater results in the future.”
A leader in the grocery retailing industry, ALDI operates nearly 1,500 U.S. stores in 32 states. For more information, visit visitwww.aldi.us.
For more information about the Siemens Building Technologies Division, visit www.usa.siemens.com/buildingtechnologies.
Siemens Corporation is a U.S. subsidiary of Siemens AG, a global powerhouse focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization.
SOURCE: Siemens