Your Hometown Market is a well-established grocery store located in central Pennsylvania. Michael Herritt, co-owner of Your Hometown Market, became increasingly concerned with the efficiency of the market’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, which was over 20 years old. He wanted to upgrade the HVAC system to a modern boiler that would enable his business to reduce energy consumption while improving employee and customer comfort by maintaining comfortable temperatures. However, purchasing and installing equipment was going to require significant capital costs.
Your Hometown Market had requested the guidance of EMAP on issues related to energy efficiency. In August 2005, EMAP analyzed a year’s worth of utility bills and performed an extensive onsite assessment and then drafted a report noting several potential energy saving opportunities. After the recommendations report was submitted, Michael Herritt decided to take action and put a stop to energy inefficiencies in his establishment. He applied for a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Small Business Advantage Grant the summer of 2006 to upgrade the HVAC system, install plastic curtains in the walk-in coolers, and upgrade the lighting throughout the market.
Nate (Michael’s son) and EMAP worked together to develop a grant proposal to upgrade the existing boiler system to an oil-fired Energy Star® rated boiler system. Additionally, it was decided to replace 31 T12 fixtures with more efficient T8 models throughout the market. Lastly, Michael and Nate decided to install four plastic curtains in their walk-in coolers to reduce cooling costs.
The upgrades implemented by Your Hometown Market have reduced electricity costs by over $581/yr and reduced fuel oil costs by $974/yr. The upgrades implemented have saved the market approximately 7,674 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity and 677 gallons of fuel oil annually. Your Hometown Market’s energy reduction benefits the environment as well with approximately 13 tons of air emissions reduced related to electricity generation.
Through their innovative and proactive approach to energy efficiency, Your Hometown Market has demonstrated a commitment to the public’s best interest. With limited renewable fuel resources, every effort made to reduce energy consumption helps insure that there is some left for future generations. Your Hometown Market’s success demonstrates that there are cost effective ways to make capital improvements to reduce energy consumption and consequently reduce overall operating costs.