The Situation
A food processing company on the Gulf Coast was dealing with escalating energy costs at their primary production facility. The 320,000 square foot plant runs two production lines with extensive refrigerated storage, processing areas that require specific lighting levels for USDA compliance, and a legacy building management system that was barely functional.
Energy was the third largest operating expense behind labor and raw materials. The plant manager knew there were savings opportunities but was concerned about three things: food safety (any change to refrigeration had to be zero-risk), USDA lighting requirements in production areas, and disruption to a production schedule that runs 20 hours a day, 6 days a week.
The company had received quotes for LED lighting in the past but had never been presented with a holistic approach that addressed lighting, refrigeration, and controls together. That changed when we walked the facility and showed them the full picture.
What We Did
After a comprehensive facility audit, we identified three major opportunity areas and designed an integrated project that addressed all of them:
Phase 1: LED Lighting
- Production areas: Wet-rated, sealed LED fixtures designed for washdown environments. Light levels engineered to exceed USDA minimum requirements with improved color rendering for quality inspection stations.
- Cold storage: Cold-rated LED fixtures replacing T8 fluorescents that were struggling in sub-zero temperatures. LEDs perform better in cold environments — the opposite of fluorescents.
- Warehouse and shipping: High bay LED replacements with occupancy sensors in lower-traffic zones.
- Exterior: LED area lights and wall packs across the parking lot, loading docks, and perimeter.
Phase 2: Refrigeration Optimization
- Compressor VFDs: Variable frequency drives installed on two of the facility's four ammonia compressors, allowing them to modulate capacity based on actual load rather than cycling on and off.
- ECM evaporator fan motors: Electronically commutated motors replaced shaded-pole motors across all walk-in coolers and freezers.
- Floating head pressure controls: New controls strategy allows condenser pressure to float down during cooler weather, reducing compressor energy consumption significantly during fall, winter, and spring months.
- Anti-sweat heater controls: Smart controls on display case and door heaters reduce run time based on ambient humidity rather than running continuously.
Phase 3: Building Controls
- BMS replacement: The legacy pneumatic/DDC hybrid system was replaced with a modern building management system that integrates HVAC, lighting schedules, and refrigeration monitoring.
- Energy dashboard: Real-time and historical energy monitoring by system, giving the plant manager visibility into consumption patterns for the first time.
- Automated scheduling: HVAC and non-production lighting now follow optimized schedules based on actual production hours rather than running 24/7.
Installation Approach
Food processing facilities present unique installation challenges. Every piece of equipment in a production area has to be handled with food safety in mind — no debris, no contamination risk, no open ceilings above production lines during operating hours.
We developed a phased installation plan that worked around the production schedule. Lighting in production areas was done during the weekly sanitation shutdown. Refrigeration work was scheduled during planned maintenance windows. Controls installation was done in parallel with continued operation of the legacy system, with cutover happening over a weekend.
Total project duration was 4 months from start to finish, with no unplanned production downtime.
The Results
The combined effect of all three measures delivered $612,000 in verified annual energy savings. The lighting upgrade alone delivered significant savings, but the refrigeration and controls measures nearly doubled the total impact.
The refrigeration optimization was especially impactful during the spring and fall shoulder seasons, when floating head pressure controls allowed the compressors to run much more efficiently than they had been at fixed setpoints.
The new BMS gave the plant manager real-time visibility into energy consumption for the first time. Within the first month of operation, the system identified an HVAC unit that was running 24/7 due to a failed occupancy sensor — a problem that had been invisible for years.
With $218,000 in utility incentives captured across all three measures, the net project cost paid for itself in 2.4 years. The project was financed with $0 upfront, and the energy savings exceeded the monthly payment from day one.