Electrical peak load in supermarkets - Strategies to improve energy efficiency

Status

completed

Summary

Supermarkets have substantial energy expenditures to ensure the cooling chain of food prod-ucts and to keep the quality criteria, so they have a strong obligation to the customer. Under these basic conditions, a concept will be developed which optimises the synchronisation of power supply and demand. With this, the integration of renewable energy sources will be facilitated and new scopes for customers and suppliers will arise. This symbiosis is the key to a long-term economy of the concept and the example for other, comparable enterprises. With a region wide realisation of the concept, the peak load demand could be reduced by 3 - 10%, depending on the design and dimensioning of the systems.

In the context of this project, detailed analyses are made to detect potentials of peak load shifting and -reduction in supermarkets. The focus is set on the refrigeration technologies due to its need of 50 - 60 % of the total electricity demand.

A substantial point therefore is the investigation in terms of latent cold storage systems: Is the installation of a common cold storage system able to improve the existing peak load performance? Is it possible to charge them with the existing cooling capacity of the installed chiller unit in times of low cooling needs? Are there any chances for an economic operation of such a combined system?

The goal is to implement such thermo-electrical systems as a kind of huge "battery storage" in existing power systems. The use of cooling energy as integrated storage system has potentials to improve the integration of intermitted renewable energy sources such as wind energy or photovoltaic.

A further goal is - beside the internal load homogenisation with storage systems and load management - also the saving of primary and secondary energy by means of technical and organisational energy efficiency measures.

The investigations rely on the warehouses of the MPREIS Warenvertriebs GmbH. The simulation of different scenarios for load balancing and -shifting are done on the example of a selected supermarket.

To implement strategies for the reduction of the electrical peak load in a broad context, stimulations have to be implemented on the part of the power supplier. Based on analyses of the actual power market behaviours and the market potentials, possible accounting and/or incentive scenarios are derived.

Project management

DI(FH) Gernot Becker
ATB - Antennen°Umwelt°Technik und Technisches Büro Becker

Project or cooperation partner

• Fachhochschule Wiener Neustadt - Campus Wieselburg
  Zeiselgraben 4, 3250 Wieselburg
  www.wieselburg.fhwn.ac.at
• Carrier Kältetechnik Austria GmbH
  Altwirthgasse 6-10, 1230 Wien
  www.carrier-kt.at
• oekostrom Vertriebs GmbH
  Mariahilferstraße 120, 1070 Wien
  www.oekostrom.at
• MPREIS Warenvertriebs GmbH
  Landesstraße 16, 6176 Völs
  www.mpreis.at

DI(FH) Gernot Becker
ATB - Antennen°Umwelt°Technik und Technisches Büro Becker
Dörferstraße 16, 6067 Absam
Tel.: +43 (5223) 53090
Fax: +43 (5223) 53588
E-Mail: office@atb-becker.com