With the continuing global recession and concerns of energy scarcity and resulting costs increases, retailers are under even more pressure to reduce operating cost. For supermarkets specifically, the two largest cost areas are in energy and maintenance at approximately 60% and 25% of total operating costs, respectively. As is well known for supermarkets, energy and maintenance are can be closely related and in many times in an inverse relationship, with maintenance practice being the controlling variable. This session focuses on algorithms, technology, and tools to provide the ability to perform maintenance on an equipment condition basis, rather than on a preventative maintenance or run to failure basis.

The Emerson’s ProAct Service Center handles over 6 million alarms annually from a variety of energy management systems and have learned a thing or two about what it takes to set up the controller for optimal alarm monitoring. This session delves into the best practices for controller setup to enable alarm monitoring from retail facilities.

Advanced lighting control systems can considerably reduce energy usage. Advancements is dimming technology, daylight harvesting and control strategies make energy reduction possible. This session investigates control strategies and technologies best suited for a variety of retail environments.

Small format retail facilities have needs that are uniquely different from large platform stores. A convenience store is not just a small supermarket and shouldn’t be treated as such. This session will guide attendees thought trends in the small store format space and what these trends mean to store design and energy efficiency.

Case controls offer retailers opportunities to save money on a variety of fronts from lower energy consumption to lower ongoing maintenance. Costs of case controllers are now at price points that make their adoption more favorable. Add wireless modules to the mix and now even self contained cases can be integrated into your energy management system. This session provides and in depth look at how and why you should use case controllers.

There are a number of strategies available to retailer interested in reducing their energy consumption. This session will take attendees through a series of technologies and strategies aimed at reducing energy consumption.

As a worldwide provider of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration solutions for residential, industrial and commercial applications, Emerson Climate Technologies is leading the industry in the development of compressor electronics. As the technology continues to present new possibilities and capabilities, it is important that retailer HVACR contractors and professionals understand how to take advantage of compressor electronics. This session focuses on how compressor electronics work and how they can be employed to provide better system performance, increased profitability and more satisfied customers.

The protocols used for energy management systems vary from BACNet to Echelon to proprietary. There is much confusion over what information end users have access to and what they do not. Some systems claim to be open but are only telling half of the story. This session will help attendees gain a better understanding of the alphabet soup of protocols along with typical places these protocols are found and the level of access to data.

Customer comfort is top of mind for all retailers. However for retailers, the HVAC systems in their stores represent one of their largest energy expenditures. Variable frequency drives offer retailers an opportunity to reduce energy consumption while still maintaining customer comfort. This session helps attendees understand how savings are achieved through drive technology and how to make a retrofit program successful.

Come hear what’s new in advanced refrigeration systems. Learn about the latest trends in advanced refrigeration and what large retailers are rolling out. Compare installation and operational costs of R-407A DX systems, Secondary Systems, Modular Secondary Systems, and R-410A Systems to the traditional R-404A DX Rack System.

Learn how building information modeling (BIM) software can be used to maximize the energy efficiency of your new store design. See how energy efficiency is affected by different store layouts.

Unit sales of plug-in electronic vehicles are expected to exceed 250,000 globally in 2012 with North America accounting for 66,000 of these vehicles. With a range of about 80 miles, range anxiety or the ability to recharge is a major concern for consumers. Retailers have experimented with installing charging stations as a means to attract consumers to their stores. This session will outline the state of the plug-in electronic vehicle market, charging infrastructure trends, and implications for retailers who wish to take advantage of this growing trend.