Michaels Stores, the largest arts and crafts retailer in the U.S., recently rolled out a series of extensions to its installation of Siemens’ Site Controls Energy Management System.
Since deploying the Siemens system in 2006, Michaels says it has seen substantial reductions in energy consumption across its more than 1,000 stores.
The extensions include intelligent demand control ventilation that works with existing HVAC units without hardware retrofits, systems that dynamically adjust temperature set points to factor in both temperature and humidity while maintaining customer comfort, and lighting automation upgrades, which should enable more precise control of lighting circuits in employee areas and stocking zones. Siemens expects the additional savings created by the new advanced-capability deployments to bring total EMS-related savings to more than 30 percent.
Michaels carried out a 30-site pilot of the Siemens system, followed by a 200-site expansion and thorough system analysis. A comprehensive measurement and verification study validated the savings delivered, Siemens says.
The extensions will provide Michaels a cash-on-cash payback of 20 months, and an return on investment exceeding 90 percent. In addition, the investment will drive further reductions in Michaels’ carbon footprint, the environmental equivalent of taking 5,600 cars off the road each year.
Siemens says it meets regularly with its EMS customers for KPI reviews to maintain initial savings. New innovations are often delivered remotely by the Siemens’ web-based Site Controls Data Center.
According to a survey released by Siemens in January, 31 percent of British energy managers say energy efficiency is not being taken seriously by their bosses. However, 83 percent of directors believe that energy management matters are being paid enough attention, the survey reveals.