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Fresh Savings for Powerstar South Africa

The latest international Powerstar case study highlights the results of a Powerstar VO-MAX variable voltage regulation installation at a food retailer in King William’s Town, South Africa.

Nick’s Foods is part of the SPAR group which strives to offer the best quality products at affordable prices, and prides itself on fresh produce at great value. Creating an inviting retail environment, meeting the individual needs of customers, and being a good member of the local community are key focuses for the business, and, as such, the client places a lot of importance on being as environmentally friendly as possible.

Retail sites, especially those open extended hours to cater for customers’ convenience, can incur significant electricity costs. These come from a range of equipment that often requires near-constant use such as lighting, temperature controls, and specialist retailing equipment such as stock management systems and stock-connected self-checkouts.

Nick’s Foods SPAR sought ways to reduce its costs to deliver value to customers, and make a positive impact on the community by reducing its environmental impact. Powerstar South Africa (SA) was invited to carry out a survey to evaluate the energy usage and voltage profile at Nick’s Foods SPAR to explore improvements that could be made.

Through the site evaluation process, the Powerstar South Africa team identified that the voltage supplied to the site was excessively high, and fluctuated significantly. This unstable profile was contributing to unnecessarily high electricity bills as well as having a negative impact on the electrical equipment on-site, shortening the lifespan of equipment and resulting in premature burnout.

Powerstar South Africa recommended a variable voltage regulation system, known as Powerstar MAX. Powerstar MAX cleanses, stabilises, and optimises the incoming voltage to an optimal level for electrical appliances on-site, reducing electrical consumption, carbon emissions, and wear and tear on electrical equipment.

Post-installation, Nick’s Foods SPAR’s annual electricity consumption was reduced by an impressive 18.9%, exceeding the Powerstar guaranteed target, and substantially cutting the business’s energy bills and carbon emissions.