Dairyland, U.S.A. Finds ‘Greener’ Pastures
In the year 2001, as it is today, Dairyland, U.S.A. was a successful and growing, wholesale food distribution company that serves virtually all of New York City’s and the northeast’s finest restaurants. Based in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx, the company employs 280 people in the food service industry. To meet its customers needs for high quality, good tasting food, Dairyland, U.S.A. operates a 110,000 Ft.2 warehouse with over 22,000 Ft.2 of refrigerated or freezer space. To move the food in and out of these chilled and unchilled spaces, Dairyland, U.S.A. uses battery-powered, electric fork lifts. The good news for Dairyland, U.S.A. back in 2001 was that their business was growing so fast, they were going to need to expand their warehouse space.
The Problem with Success
As the point person for day-to-day operations, Dairyland, U.S.A.’s Brian Adair is keenly aware of what it takes to keep the operation in ‘ship-shape’. One thing that stood out on his radar screen was the company’s cost of electricity. “I saw the bills going up each month, for both demand and usage. I also knew we needed more space and was afraid of the impact energy costs would have on our growth”, said Mr. Adair. “Plus, I read the newspaper and I knew 3 years ago that NYC was facing severe shortages of electricity. With our freezer and refrigeration load, a black-out could be devastating to our business.” Hence, Dairyland, U.S.A. began to seek out a comprehensive energy solution.
Working with the Pros
Bob Bradley is the President of 1st Rochdale’s fuel oil subsidiary, Twin Pines Fuels. Based in the Bronx, Bob made a sales call to Dairyland U.S.A. When he discovered their needs were with electricity, he called in 1st Rochdale’s Green Apple Sustainable Energy Group. “The first thing we do when we get a call for high energy costs is to take a look at the billing history and develop a usage profile.” According that analysis confirmed what Brian Adair told them – Dairyland U.S.A.’s usage, demand and costs were rising.
A walk-thru energy audit of the facility with 1st Rochdale’s refrigeration consultant Jack Davidoff of Energy Consulting Services revealed that the performance of the control system as well as the compressors for the chilled spaces was not operating as efficiently as possible. This gave the 1st Rochdale team the information it needed to develop an energy plan that would save money, strengthen reliability and help clean the air.
Developing an Effective Energy Action Plan
Energy Consulting Services developed an action plan that put real time energy information in the hands of Dairyland U.S.A.’s operations chief, Brian Adair. The plan included:
- Mechanical improvements to the operation of the compressors,
- Electrical and operational improvements to allow ‘off-peak’ battery charging,
- Installation of a Danfoss electronic refrigeration control system that more efficiently monitors the temperature in the chilled spaces and the operation of the compressors,
- Installation of more efficient lighting and lighting controls that took advantage of natural daylighting available at the site, and;
- A ‘Smart Metering System’ that includes a computerized energy management system (manufactured by Danfoss) and a electricity usage data logger that give Dairyland U.S.A. the ability to isolate, monitor and curtail pre-selected loads at critical times of the year.
Further, 1st Rochdale applied for and received incentive funding from the NYSERDA to install the computerized energy management system and worked out a financial arrangement that provided Dairyland U.S.A. with a favorable without limiting existing lines of credit.
The Proof is in the Pudding
At the time this project began, Dairyland, USA had a peak load of approximately 460 kW and annual consumption of 2.5 million kWh. Business growth has resulted in the need for additional cooling, battery charging and lighting capacity. As a result, the facility load was expected to grow at the time 1st Rochdale was called in.
After installation of the energy improvements, Dairyland, U.S.A. has been able to reduce demand by almost 200 KW/month while their ability to control their energy usage and bills has dramatically increased. The installation of the system also gave them the ability to curtail predetermined loads when electric supplies are constrained in NYC. These load reductions are identified in the table below.
Financial Performance
The EMS paid for itself in just over 1 year while saving Dairyland, USA more than $1,000,000 over 10 years while providing Dairyland, USA’s management team with the ability to monitor and control their refrigeration systems from remote locations and receive a security call if temperatures in the space are outside normal operating ranges. This reduces the likelihood of food spoilage, increasing the value of inventory and improving Dairyland, USA’s bottom line. As a result, 1st Rochdale Cooperative Group Inc. used new, ‘energy smart’ technology to help its customer, Dairyland, USA, reduce its energy costs and improve the quality of their product while improving grid reliability and reducing emissions from their operations.
Danfoss Electronic Monitoring & Control EMS Specification Information
This system provides for:
- Electrical demand limiting
- Refrigerated temperature control
- Refrigeration defrost monitoring & control
- Refrigeration system evaporator control & monitoring
- Refrigeration system compressor status & pressure monitoring (all compressors)
- Zoned demand limiting (I.E., office HVAC)
- Time of day control and battery charger demand limiting
- Partial lighting control
- Monitoring & alarming
