Supermarket energy use and greenhouse gas emissions – technology options review

Refrigeration is the largest load in a supermarket, accounting for 50-60% of the electricity consumption. Supermarket refrigeration systems also generate greenhouse gas emissions directly, through refrigerant leakage. Technologies that can save direct and indirect emissions in a typical baseline UK supermarket were examined and the application timescales and cost per tonne of CO2 abated were calculated using a model of the supermarket. Using the model, the technologies that could save the most carbon were identified. The work examined 81 different technologies and their potential to save direct and indirect emissions in supermarkets. Results from the work have shown that most technologies either save CO2e emissions from reduction in energy or from reduction in refrigerant leakage, only a few technologies demonstrated savings from both.