Warming Up to Cold Cases

Getting utility budgets under control, particularly the energy spend, continues to be one of retailers’ top instore goals.

Retailers, however, are not the only ones for which minimizing energy costs is top of mind. The new Department of Energy (DOE) regulations have prompted all industry manufacturers to make energy improvements in their refrigerated display case designs. While grocers are not responsible for complying with the new DOE regulations, the product mix that manufacturers will be able to offer them will change. 

“Nowadays, everyone is concerned with energy conservation and cost reduction,” says Carl Petersen, marketing and advertising manager for Zero Zone, based in North Prairie, Wis. “Companies such as ours have already taken steps to go even further than the regulations mandate.”

What that means to the retailer is that Zero Zone products, which have always been energy efficient, he says, will now be even more so in 2017. “Maintaining the optimum humidity and temperature of store conditions will be more important to the retailer as a result of these changes, but the biggest adaptation that retailers will need to make is deciding where in their company to invest their newfound energy savings,” says Petersen.

Imminent changes in acceptable refrigerants are on the horizon as well. The EPA refrigerant regulations taking effect in 2017 are complex and require clarification for retailers to apply them successfully. Unfortunately, some of the terms used in the regulations can be confusing. For instance, the EPA defines a “new system” as one that is changed by “adding additional cases, compressors, and refrigerant that were not supported by the original compressor system.” Conversely, the EPA considers a “retrofit” to be a change in refrigerant, not a change in equipment.

A good understanding of these definitions and the concept of when a system becomes “operational” are essential to retailer compliance of these new regulations. Timing of system changes is also critical in terms of when soon-to-be banned R404a or R507a refrigerants can or cannot be used, or if and when they must be replaced.

According to a 2015 FMI report, most retailers indicated they are devoting more space to perimeter and specialty departments such as produce, deli and prepared foods compared to just two years ago. Officials at Hussmann Corp. note that this movement within the store layout matches up with consumer trends looking for fresh, customizable and convenient food choices when making their shopping decisions. Retailers also say they are using these departments to help differentiate themselves from their competition. 

“The food retail industry is very competitive and the average profit margin for traditional grocery stores continues to hover at about 1 to 2 percent,” says Jessica Moore, senior product leader for Bridgeton, Mo.-based Hussmann Corp. According to Moore, Hussmann works closely with its customers to understand the pain points about their business so that the company can develop solutions that have the greatest impact on their success. 

To achieve this, Moore says Hussmann takes into account how merchandising attributes such as case design and built-in features can improve energy efficiency and reduce costs. “At Hussmann we think about the refrigerated display case as the centerpiece to helping food retailers increase sales and improve operating performance of their brick-and-mortar store assets,” says Moore. “We are always looking for new ways to lower energy consumption, make the display case easier to clean and service and improve overall performance which will help the food retailer reduce their operating costs.” 

Industry observers say food quality and safety are two of the top trends driving food-temperature monitoring—both at the case and remotely. With the Food Safety Modernization Act retailers are not only being tasked with managing fresh foods throughout the cold chain, but are also looking to authenticate their food quality story. 

“With more data available to help substantiate how foods remain fresh along the journey from ‘farm-to-fork,’ retailers can create a competitive advantage and build brand authenticity with a transparent message for their shoppers,” says John Wallace, director of innovation, retail solutions for Emerson Climate Technologies based in Sidney, Ohio.

The convergence of food retail concepts, driven by consumer demand for convenience and fresh products, is another trend impacting cold cases, notes Wallace. “Consumers expect retailers to fit more into one location,” he says. “Flexible infrastructures are needed to adapt to these changing store concepts. As stores become more complex, scalability is key.”

Wallace adds that comprehensive facility solutions that fit a variety of formats, new technology and equipment are necessary to achieve this. This convergence, he says, also opens up the opportunity to explore flexible, wireless facility solutions.

Feature rich

Doors that reduce operational and maintenance costs by requiring little to no energy to operate and with no heating elements are among the top features retailers are looking for in cold case merchandisers. Retailers are also looking for all-glass doors that provide maximum visibility for their merchandise to highlight the ever-increasing multitude of new foods and drinks that are being sold at grocery stores today. 

“Retailers know that to stand out they need to have case doors that maximize the visibility of their merchandise,” says Jeff Brooks, national accounts manager for Anthony, based in Sylmar, Calif.

He adds that Anothony’s Vista Elite all-glass, energy-free cooler doors feature next generation Vacuum Insulated Glass (VIG) technology, which offers panoramic visibility without the need for door or glass heat. The doors, he says, offer both insulation and anti-condensation features. Brooks says from a total energy savings standpoint the door can save retailers 70 percent compared to other technologies and that Vista Elite doors also meet and exceed stringent DOE requirements. “Our exclusive doors both help retailers reduce their carbon footprint and meet their environment goals,” says Brooks.

Officials at Washington, Mo.-based Parker Hannifin-Sporlan Division say one of today’s top trends is the shift away from using standard mechanical valves to using electric valves that are integrated into the display cases with case controllers. Steve Schuster, food retail market manager for the Sporlan Division, says some of the major factors driving this trend include retailers’ desire to troubleshoot issues off-site when necessary.  

“Reliability has been a concern in the past with previous electric valves and controllers, but we succeeded in increasing the quality and performance of many of our current offerings,” says Schuster. 

Another key feature of electronically controlled cases, notes Schuster, is the ease and speed at which information can be accessed. He says retailers are finding that the information available through these smart controls is allowing them to make better business decisions. “With the development of smarter valves and controls the end users are getting much more information on the performance of the cases, allowing them to make better decisions when it comes to service and maintenance costs,” says Schuster, noting that this development is also allowing manufactures to design more efficient cases that reduce energy costs.

Due to the number of benefits of smart case technology, officials at Emerson Climate Technologies see a bright future for this equipment, particularly electronic expansion valves (EEVs). According to Wallace, EEVs enable the efficiency of floating head pressures and offer great performance benefits. “That is important as we look to the future of cold cases, where cost and regulatory pressures will only continue to mount. Because of that, the practice of lowering head pressures to improve efficiency and system performance is gaining momentum,” he says.

Moving away from refrigeration cases that are controlled via circuit control and toward implementing individual case control will also lead to lower energy costs for retailers, say observers. “Case controls can also reduce operational costs and provide maintenance savings as well as collect data that can be continually monitored and evaluated,” says Wallace. “Retailers incur lower installation costs and less time is spent on set up because the electronic controller automatically adjusts for optimum superheat instead of a mechanic needing to manual adjust a mechanical valve which can be very time consuming.”

Given the increasing difficulty in maintaining a skilled technical workforce, having efficient, reliable equipment these days is a must. Observers say that as the current workforce ages, technical experts are becoming harder to find and concerns arise around workforce costs. They say as retailers evaluate their priorities, a greater focus on user-friendly facility technology is a must. “The latest in facility management systems utilize human centered design, providing grocery retailers with enhanced connectivity and monitoring capabilities while improving usability, user interface and intuitive operation,” says Wallace. Adding third-party monitoring services to remotely triage, diagnose and resolve equipment issues, he notes, will also allow their associates to focus on customer engagement.

When designing cold cases, officials at Hussmann say the important merchandising attributes they focus on are creating a case that attracts, guides and influences shoppers during their in-store shopping journey. “The main goal of the refrigerated display case is to ‘show off’ the product whether it is packaged, fresh or prepared—in a way that will delight shoppers resulting in increased sales and brand loyalty,” says Moore. “Retailers also seek display cases that offer easy to adjust multi-deck shelves for display flexibility and cross-merchandising solutions using end caps, bump outs and service/ self-service products.” 

In short, she says retailers are looking for solutions that reduce their costs while the savings fall directly to their bottom line. “Over the past several years, the trend has been toward LEDs and doors on medium temperature display cases and we continue to see the next generation of these products coming to market,” says Moore. Not only do LEDs and doors reduce energy consumption, but Moore says both help to maintain consistent temperatures within the product display zone resulting in better product integrity, improved shelf life and less product loss.    

“We are also seeing new digital technologies that could be integrated within the display case to collect and share information about shopper behaviors and display case performance,” she adds. 

Hussmann recently introduced Insight merchandisers, a new medium temperature display case line for produce, meat and dairy that includes the AdvantaChill Performance Package. According to officials, a combination of breakthrough technologies for airflow, fans, coils, and lighting work together to provide a stable temperature zone within the display case, resulting in maximized food quality, freshness and shelf life.

Borgen Systems is best known for creating top-of-the-line refrigerated cases and problem-solving merchandising displays for deli and foodservice, fresh meat, wine cellars and salad bars, among others. Bill Carlson, vice president of the Des Moines, Iowa-based company, says due to the demand from consumers, as well as the pressure on margins, today’s retailers are looking for cases that prolong product shelf life, improve merchandising options and maximize floor space while having lower installation and maintenance costs. “By focusing on total life cost of the display case we can provide a solution and not a Band-Aid for the problem,” he says.

Among Borgen Systems’ newest innovations is its DekFRESH technology gravity cases for fresh meat and seafood. Carlson says the case has a different structure than what grocers are accustomed to seeing in standard meat and seafood cases. For instance, instead of a tank housing the cooling coils, the floor of the case has a built-in cooling system. “This small change in technology improves food safety. With no vents or hidden spaces for food particles to accumulate, risk for bacterial growth is significantly reduced,” says Carlson. The upshot, he adds, is that food products remain safe for consumers to purchase for a longer period of time.

A Cold Future

Given the number of new regulations, and with more to come in the near future, observers say to be a true partner, companies will need to be proactive in developing technologies that provide solutions for the daily challenges retailers face. “This is particularly true when it comes to attracting customers and ensuring their business is as profitable as possible,” says Brooks.

With the new DOE regulations taking effect in 2017, display case manufacturers are making mandatory changes to their refrigerated cases that will ultimately require improvements to the store conditions in which cases operate. Petersen says that all manufacturers test their cases according to ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 72—Method of Testing Commercial Refrigerators and Freezers. Testing takes place in environmentally controlled test chambers in which the ambient temperature is held at 75° F and the humidity is held at 55 percent. Any ambient store temperature or humidity that exceeds these levels, he explains, is likely to result in poor case performance, exhibited by door fogging, frost formation inside the case, or leaking of condensation onto store floors. 

“Due to DOE restraints on adding heat to the cases, simple adjustments to door heaters will no longer alleviate those condensation or frosting issues when the new cases are placed in store conditions that exceed ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 72 parameters,” says Petersen. Although store operators have been aware of the importance of this concept for several years, Petersen says maintaining optimum store conditions is even more critical as the redesigned cases are commissioned in stores. “This is especially important in stores located in the southern areas of U.S., where higher store temperatures and higher humidity levels are likely to be the norm,” he says.

Observers say retailers should be aware of this and make modifications to their stores soon, in order to be ahead of the curve and prepared for the newer, more energy-efficient cases, regardless of manufacturer.

According to Petersen, the Zero Zone Crystal Merchandiser line of coolers and freezers has already met the 2017 DOE energy regulations and required no modifications. “One of our other case lines has been redesigned slightly to achieve energy levels well below the new DOE requirements and has been given a sleek design facelift,” he says.

Wallace agrees that energy efficiencies are going to keep retailers in compliance with regulations, plus provide greater ROI in the long-term, even though the short-term cost may be higher. “But customers will pay more money for better, fresher products which retailers will be able to stock more of because of more reliable, sustainable equipment and that typically justifies the up-front spend on the retailer’s end,” he says.

In terms of what features may be found on the next generation of displays and merchandisers, Carlson sees two features rising to the top, both of which will help retailers create a customized look for their displays and merchandisers. “I predict we will see the availability of more flexible lighting solutions. I also think we will see more marketing options built into cases in the coming years,” he says.