Kroger cuts energy consumption by 30 percent
Pushing my cart past the frozen food aisles at Kroger, I noticed that the lights in the freezers blinked on as I approached.
It was no coincidence, I later learned.
Kroger has reduced its in-store energy consumption by 30 percent since 2000, according to an article published in Supermarket News, a trade journal. That’s enough to power every single-family home in Fort Worth, Texas, for one year, Supermarket News reported.
I called Carl York, Kroger’s Mid-Atlantic spokesman, who told me that the motion light sensors in the freezers are just one of the energy-saving measures the company has put into place.
Other energy efficient features include installing skylights with sensors that tell the indoor lights to switch on when it is cloudy or dark, York said. The Cave Spring and Bonsack Kroger stores have this feature.
The motion sensor lights that I noticed in the frozen food aisle will also be put to use in the meat cases, York said. In addition, Kroger has also replaced its lights with compact fluorescent lights or LED lights.
More recently, Supermarket News reported that the first Kroger-owned store, Smith’s Food & Drug Stores in Albuquerque, N.M., installed 442 solar panels on the roof of the store. The energy savings could heat and cool 30 homes in New Mexico for a year, according to the Supermarket News story.
August 24, 2011 - 9:00 AM
All energy conserving efforts should be applauded. Technology is expensive in the beginning.
I’d noticed the sequencing refrigerated lighting about a year ago. It’s a novel idea, but seems it’s reliability has yet to be achieved. My observation has been that many of the cases do not operate as they were designed, now, a year later.
And they pass those savings right onto us, the customers.
Oh wait,…….yeah, doubt that.
Applaud them for involving energy saving methods though.
That is good.
It would be one thing if cost-cutting measures SAVED jobs, but companies typically cut overhead AND cut jobs. Not only that, but it’s not mere profitability that they’re trying to preserve… it’s GROWTH. If they’re not MORE profitable every year, something is going to be cut. When are the spoiled children who run these companies going to learn that reality dictates that the more, more, MORE mentality just isn’t practical. You’re going to have ups and downs, and you’re going to have to understand that you may never repeat the success of a peak year. Cutting to the bone in order to increase profits over a successful year that may not have been more than just a fluke is NOT going to make your company successful in the long run.