Cash-back incentives from Energy Trust of Oregon and Oregon Business Energy Tax Credits help cover costs and reduce payback periods on many measures.

In addition, the Oregon Department of Energy offers the Oregon Energy Loan Program. The program provides low-interest, fixed-rate loans from $20,000 up to millions of dollars for energy-saving projects in Oregon.

To maximize your savings, evaluate your options based on their life-cycle costs, not just first costs.

Typical measures and what you can save*
Refrigeration

• Check and adjust refrigeration controls. A “tune-up” can cut that usage by 4 to 8 percent and also improve equipment capacity, reduce maintenance and downtime, and protect your products. Make it part of your annual maintenance. A tuneup can include the following steps:

Measure superheat values and adjust thermostatic expansion valves to a target superheat.

Adjust condenser holdback valves, condenser fan sequencing and head pressure control settings.

Reduce suction pressure set-points.

If existing systems have compressor heat reclaim, verify systems are functioning properly.

• Learn more about Refrigeration.

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning

• Ensure that economizers and outdoor air dampers on HVAC units are working properly. Broken or malfunctioning equipment brings unwanted outside air and moisture inside. This equipment can return your investment in one to four years.
• Install an energy management control system and train someone to program, operate and maintain it. According to the Edison Electric Institute, this could be the most cost-effective step you take, especially in preventing needless energy waste.
• Learn more about Heating & Cooling.

Lighting

• Update fluorescent refrigerated case lighting with LEDs. You're likely to enjoy better illumination of products, good operations at cold temperatures and good energy savings: 2- to 4-year payback.
• Install ENERGY STAR®-qualified screw-in compact fluorescent lights and save 65 pecent of the energy used by incandescents: 1- to 2-year payback.
• Install ENERGY STAR®-qualified compact fluorescent fixtures and save 65 percent of the energy used by incandescents: 2- to 4-year payback.
• Replace T12 fluorescent fixtures with "high-performance" T8 lamps and electronic ballasts, and save 40 percent or more: 3- to 5-year payback.
• Install occupancy sensors to control lights in areas that are frequently unoccupied, such as private offices, storage rooms, conference rooms and restrooms: 2- to 5-year payback.
• Install LED exit signs and save 90 percent over incandescent signs: 2- to 3-year payback.
• Learn more about Lighting.

New equipment

• Invest in premium efficiency equipment. New technologies for refrigeration, lighting and heating/cooling save energy every day. Consider replacing your equipment when it is near the end of its useful life; your facility has expanded; your air conditioning costs are high; or your existing system is unreliable, difficult to control or provides unsatisfactory space conditioning. For more information, contact Energy Trust of Oregon’s Existing Buildings program.

New construction

• Design a high-performance store. When you build a new store, integrate all systems during design and construction. This can cut your total energy use and costs by 30 percent and make your store more profitable from day one. For more information, contact Energy Trust of Oregon’s New Buildings program.

Learn more
Find more energy-saving ideas for grocery in these sections:

• Simple Fixes

*Your actual results will vary based on energy use and energy efficiency measures.