by Brianna Crandall — June 29, 2016 — Every year, an average-sized grocery store spends more than $200,000 on energy and releases 1,900 tons of carbon emissions, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Refrigeration accounts for close to half of a grocery store’s total electricity usage, making investing in more efficient refrigeration a great solution to immediately trim utility bills, notes EERE.
But over the past half century, there has been little innovation in the motors that drive commercial refrigerators’ energy usage — until now. Through a DOE Small Business Innovation Research grant, Kansas City, Missouri-based QM Power recently commercialized a high-efficiency motor for commercial refrigerators that EERE says has the potential to revolutionize the market.
QM Power’s new commercial refrigeration fan motor, called a permanent magnet synchronous motor, can save 30% to 80% of the energy used by other motors. Photo courtesy of QM Power.
Today, thanks to an EERE Building Technologies Office funding award, QM Power is demonstrating its technology, called the Q-Sync refrigeration fan motor, in supermarkets across the country, with the Energy Department and utilities verifying the savings. Customers are now using these successful demonstrations to accept and commercialize the Q-Sync fan in their refrigeration units.
See the EERE Success Story — Revolutionary Refrigeration Motor Slashes Supermarket Energy Usage on the EERE Web site.
