Apple Country Market

Having businesses entrust our refrigeration controls and efficiency measures so much that they immediately think to add it anytime they grow their business—either by expanding the size of their cold space, or adding a second walk-in cooler, or gain a second location (or more)—says more about the solution, we believe, than we ever could. Justin Bush and Apple Country Market, a local staple in Clinton, MA for over 25 years, is such a business.

Dating back to 2010, all three times that they’ve grown their cold space to support their needs, they’ve sought to include NRM measures.

They’ve been able to integrate multiple enhancements to their refrigeration system besides just the award-winning controls that provide complete control over its operation, resulting in a comprehensive package of benefits. In total over the years, they’ve incorporated smart temperature controls, evaporator fan motor upgrades, anti-sweat door heater controls, open refrigerated case covers, LED lighting upgrades, and on-site temperature alerts.

The combined energy savings from all of these measures is quite impactful on their bottom line, obviously. Each year, their kWh usage is about 73,000 kWh less than if they’d done nothing and just let their system run as-is. This equates to about $7,000 off their actual electric bill annually. And many of the components qualified for incentives from their utility provider, which lowered their upfront out-of-pocket costs as well as their simple payback period.

But it’s the non-energy aspects of the solution that Justin and his staff wound up finding most helpful. With how busy they get, no one can afford to spend their entire shift staring at the temperature of the walk-in cooler to make sure nothing is going wrong with their product storage. The controls will actually alert staff when it detects an issue with temperature or cooling, allowing them to address a potential issue before it’s too late.