Improved Energy Benchmarking of Supermarkets Buildings

Abstract: Amongst commercial spaces, supermarkets are the most energy intensive building and the presence of these building is expected to rise. Therefore, the study of energy efficiency and the impact of supermarket on environment is the important areas which needs a lot of research. For the fair comparison of supermarket energy performance, a proper performance indicator represents the behavior of the system is needed to make a fair comparison. The aim of this study is to enhance the existing performance indicator for supermarket, by analyzing the real data for three existing supermarkets. While sales area is commonly employed as the main performance indicator for supermarkets, there is a requirement for additional indicators supported by reliable field data to enhance benchmarking and accurately estimate energy demand. The investigation includes diverse factors that influence the energy performance of the building such as supermarket size, outdoor air temperature and opening hours. These variables were thoughtfully choose based on the previous works from literature reviews and analyzing the available datasets. The investigation explores the influence of outdoor temperature on energy consumption in supermarkets, covering hypermarket, supermarket, and discount store size categories. The research is focus on analyzing the electricity consumption of dependent and independent parameter which is influenced by outdoor temperature. The correlation for the impact of outdoor temperature on energy consumption is investigated within supermarket located in Sweden. Results indicate that outdoor temperature (ODT) impact is more pronounced in Södertälje than Bålsta due to distinct systems and size differences. The trendline of total electricity consumption suggests stability within an ODT range of 0°C to10°C, with cities falling within this range experiencing minimal ODT impact. Calculating the Normalized Weekly Opening Hours (NWOH) using the Eratio reveals a consistent energy demand pattern among supermarkets with similar opening hours. Notably, larger supermarkets exhibit a higher ratio of electrical consumption between their open and closed hours. The data analyzing of the supermarket is expanded to many existing available data of supermarket cases in order to plot the general energy intensity for many existing supermarket in Sweden. The energy performance of 29 supermarket in Sweden from a supermarket chain is analyzed and combined with the data from other work and is plotted against total size. The reference plot of energy intensity for 211 supermarkets, along with the reference trendline, offers a benchmark for assessing energy performance, potentially refined by using sales area. Final Performance indicators based with correction factors for opening hours and impact of outdoor temperature on electrical consumption is developed. By employing this approach and utilizing reliable data across a wider range of climates and opening hours, deeper insights can be gained.