Energy Efficiency in Wholesale Sector

The storage of large amounts of merchandise in warehouses or similar premises demands a large consumption of energy and natural resources. We may not see it, or may be totally unaware of how demanding this process is, but the logistics and in-storage conditions that have to be maintained are very expensive in energy terms. People tend to think of merchandise transportation as being the most resource-intensive and energy consuming process in wholesale, taking the goods from storage to the stores or to client’s homes and offices. They would be very surprised to find out that the storage of those goods consumes more resources than transporting them.

Climate control in large warehouse facilities is an expensive and highly energy consuming task. Most perishable products require the temperature and humidity to be kept at specific levels in order to be preserved. But we don’t mean only vegetables and dairy, but also electronics such as computers, tablets and phones and other pieces of delicate technology.

Although the time they are kept in storage isn’t usually long, the constant traffic of products keeps warehouses quite busy. HVAC systems usually work at their full capacity to control the internal conditions of the facilities and, thus, to maintain a proper environment for the products. It is commonly known that HVAC systems, together with lighting, represent the highest percentage of the total energy consumption in commercial buildings.

Wholesale is as relevant to the economy as retail, and many business people are looking at it as an alternative to traditional in-store businesses combined with the benefits of e-commerce. A big warehouse, with all the merchandise stored within an intelligent system, could replace a store in a mall, representing significant savings in rental payments, personnel, display, cooling/heating and lighting system costs.

However, in order to be fully beneficial for the economy and less harming to the environment, this sector has to be aware of the great deal of room for energy savings in its operation as it presents itself right now. For instance, the use of new and smarter HVAC systems can help enormously to reduce electricity usage. When these systems are maintained in optimal condition, by using catalysts such as EcoCOOL^®, the effect is even more apparent.

Sealing doors and windows to prevent the weather getting into the facility is of the utmost importance, because in this way you won’t fight the outside conditions once you have created ideal conditions indoors. Training the personnel that work in the facilities to be aware of efficient energy use is crucial as well, because they are the people who control the premises, know them and can detect any flaw in the energy saving process.