WASHINGTON -- The variety of services that puts the convenience into convenience stores also adds to the energy density of the building, many of which operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The operation of a typical c-store can often be so energy inefficient that the building's energy use increases to a level where the building becomes an energy hog, eroding the store's profits.
Southern California Edison's new Convenience Store & Service Station Energy Efficiency Program (CS/SS Program) was developed to reduce the traditionally [image-nocss] high energy consumption of c-stores and gas stations in its service area by encouraging the use of energy-efficient space conditioning and refrigeration options, specifically geoexchange systems.
The free assistance provided through this program will help penetrate this market segment with economically viable, renewable, sustainable and highly efficient geoexchange technology that can relieve the pressure on electric grid by reducing peak electric demand by more than a third and cutting electric consumption by up to 50% compared to a conventional system, the utility said, thereby cutting 25 to 40% off each store's monthly energy bill.
Geoexchangesometimes called geothermal or ground source heating and coolingtaps the renewable, safe and vast energy supply that lies below the earth's surface. By using a readily available source of energy, these systems can cut a building's space conditioning costs by as much as 70%, SoCal Ed said.
Installations in c-stores and gas stations are ideal, it added, because geoexchange can save additional energy through the recovery of heat rejected by refrigeration equipment, such as coolers and icemakers, using it to heat water for car washes and other uses on the premises.
SoCal Ed and the Washington-based Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium (GHPC) launched a program in June 2006 to significantly improve the energy efficiency of c-stores and gas stations that take power from the utility. This program is one of many it currently offers to improve energy efficiency in different markets, though only this program aggressively promotes the adoption of geoexchange.
This program will help Californians in ways that no other program can to reduce their energy use cost-effectively, lower the demand on the electric grid, and promote environmental stewardship, said Wael El-Sharif, executive director for GHPC.
To ensure quality installations, the GHPC has also partnered with Trane Southern California, Trison Construction and WFI Global, three major providers representing three major manufacturers: Trane, ClimateMaster and WaterFurnace, respectively.
Through the CS/SS EE Program, c-stores and gas stations in SoCal Ed territory will receive design assistance that will include a lifecycle cost analysis, soil conductivity testing and field support, along with special financing programs.
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