Sainsbury eco-outlet to monitor refrigerator energy consumption

Sainsbury's Millennium branch, the company's eco-flagship located on the Millennium Dome site in Greenwich, London, includes an energy consumption monitoring system to ensure the efficiency of the shop's fridges and freezers.


Smart E, an energy monitoring system from Parasense, has been fitted to allow Sainsbury’s to track maximum energy demand, power and energy usage and to collect data over time.

The Sainsbury Millennium outlet was designed to showcase environmentally-sound building design and management. Speaking at the launch of the shop last month, Sainsbury chief executive, Dino Adriano, highlighted the outlet’s energy efficiency: “We have used the natural flows of energy within the environment to produce an energy efficient, breathing store. We will learn from the energy saving features of this remarkable store and consider where we can use them again.”

According to Sainsbury, the 35,000 square foot shop is expected to consume as much as 50% less energy compared to a standard store of similar size.

The Sainsbury Millennium store includes a number of environmental innovations, including:

  • natural lighting and heating to avoid the need for store-wide air conditioning
  • additional heating from the waste heat created by the shop’s own gas-fired power station
  • a refrigeration system that does not contribute to ozone layer depletion
  • rainwater collection and filtration using a reed bed, following by recycling to irrigate the landscaping around the shop
  • toilets flushed with groundwater water from its own borehole, instead of from the potable water mains supply

Parasense Ltd, the manufacturer of Smart E energy monitoring system is best known in the UK for its refrigerant leak detection systems.

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