/ 6 December 2013

Commercial success

Shared Energy Management achieved a reduction of 30% in energy consumption at Emperors Palace
Shared Energy Management achieved a reduction of 30% in energy consumption at Emperors Palace

Winner: Makro SA
Since 2010, six Makro stores across the country have been greening their stores with the aim of saving energy, reducing running costs, improving the in-store environment and customer shopping experience, and becoming more sustainable.

The group has implemented various energy management systems in their stores, including a campaign to “switch the lights off”.

They installed lighting control switches, energy efficient lighting, heat reclaiming facilities, thermal storage systems as well as independent electricity check meters.

As a result the stores have been able to decrease their demand by 36% with a monthly saving of 219 000kWh.

These systems focused on savings in five key areas in store: lighting, refrigeration, air conditioning, building envelopes and domestic heating.

Their emphasis on energy consumption and the use of low impact materials and processes has significantly reduced the environmental impact of the stores.

Special Award: Combined Motor Holdings and BMW Menlyn
Energy management services company LEMS collaborated with Combined Motor Holdings to introduce energy-efficient technology across several car dealerships in South Africa, with the aim of reducing energy consumption and running costs.

Car dealership showrooms are notoriously high energy consumers, but with simple automation that reduces human error, costs can be drastically reduced.

Initially rolled out at BMW’s Menlyn dealership, LEMS conducted an energy audit and then installed automation technology that included occupancy and daylight switches, retrofitted efficient lighting and power factor correction units to reduce the energy consumption of lights, plant and air-conditioning systems.

The wireless automation system is designed by LEMS and produced locally. The installation cost R203 614 and resulted in a 46% drop in consumption.

The pilot also saw an energy champion appointed to communicate with staff and promote an energy-saving culture.

In total the group has invested R2.5-million in energy-efficient technology at car dealerships, resulting in a staggering saving of R14.8-million so far.

Runner-up: Shared Energy Management
Shared Energy Management, an energy services company based in Centurion, specialises in energy consumption services.

It was tasked by the Peermont Group to assist in optimising the energy consumption of the air conditioning system at Emperors Palace hotel in Johannesburg’s East Rand.

The project focused on optimising the efficiency of the central chiller plant and air conditioning plant serving the casino. These major components consumed 16% of the casino’s energy and offered potential for major savings.

Shared Energy Management optimised the plant rooms through electric heating while using free cooling when outside air temperature allows it.

Overall it achieved a reduction of 30% in energy consumption, with a saving of 3.5-million kWh and R3-million a year.

These savings far exceeded the initial targets of two-million kWh a year, and the success of the project will see similar optimisation projects rolled out across the site and at other casinos.

Runner-up: City Lodge
As part of its commitment to being an industry leader in environmentally sustainable practices, the City Lodge Hotel Group set itself a target of reducing its overall energy consumption by at least 20% before 2013.

Recognising that energy usage is responsible for nearly 90% of the world’s carbon footprint, the multi-brand hotel chain, offering 6 440 rooms at 52 locations throughout South Africa, introduced a sustainable energy management project that focuses on operational and facility efficiencies.

A baseline survey of consumption was conducted in 2010 and electricity meters linked to an online reporting system were installed in 2011 to gauge consumption patterns.

The next phase included educating the group’s management and staff on energy efficiency, and establishing energy management committees.

In 2013 the group installed new energy efficient technology, including 35 000 down lighters, 11 000 other lights and 15 heat pumps. The project has saved the group R6-million in energy bills annually.

This feature has been made possible by the Mail & Guardian's advertisers. Contents and photographs were sourced independently by the M&G's supplements editorial team. It forms part of the bigger supplement