Identification of changes needed in supermarket design for energy demand reduction

Supermarkets use 3% of UK energy. To satisfy building regulations supermarket buildings are modeled in considerable detail. Lighting, occupancy, and small electrical energy impacts are included in this modeling. However, refrigeration energy is not, as it is classified as “process energy” rather than “building related”. Refrigeration energy, which can be very significant, is therefore currently “unregulated” and as a result, heat transfers related to refrigeration cabinets are typically not incorporated in modeling of the building at design stage. This paper explores the comparative energy demands of supermarket stores modeled, using a simple first-order dynamic model, executed on Excel, and “optimized” firstly with, and secondly without, the cooling effect of refrigeration cabinets included in the model. A recently built supermarket is modeled. Results suggest that the energy demand of a new store could be reduced by 15-25% by improvement of the building envelope design with process energy included in the modeling.