Background

Bel-Garden is a 27,000 sq ft supermarket that has been family owned and operated in Baltimore, MD since 1964. Historically, the store owners have struggled to maintain their HVAC and refrigeration systems during the hot, humid months. Along with finding a viable solution to these issues, the owners are committed to sustainability, reducing energy consumption and maximizing their customers’ in-store experience.

Sandy Vary, owner of Bel-Garden said that Balti-more’s hot, humid summers have been a challenge. “Over the years we have struggled with conven-tional air conditioning. With our old system you could feel the humidity in the store. Even though we were making the air cold, it wasn’t enough to make people comfortable. We had shutdowns where refrigeration would fail. Our utility bills also showed the impact of those hot summers. At one point, we considered installing a desiccant wheel but it was too expensive and used too much en-ergy,” Vary added.

The Solution

Intelligent Power & Air Solutions (IPAS) in partner-ship with Energy Efficient Solutions & EATS installed an Advantix liquid desiccant system accompanied by a custom energy management / control system.

“The Advantix unit was installed in late summer,” Vary said, “but we have already been able to see its impact immediately after the installation, the re-duction in humidity made the store much more comfortable for our customers and employees.” Since the installation the average relative humidity in the store has been maintained between 30—40%. “I also noticed that our frozen products fared much better in these conditions and I saw a reduc-tion in my electric bill,” Vary added.

System Benefits

• Reduced HVAC Energy Consumption
• Increased Temperature Set Point by 5° F
• Reduced Run Time for Case Anti-Sweat Heater
• Reduced Defrost Cycles
• Lowered Refrigeration Rack Load
• Increased Product Shelf Life
• Improved Customer Comfort and Shopping Ex-perience
• Automated Maintenance Notifications
• Control Mechanical Systems Remotely
• Manage, Track and Categorize Store Energy Consumption
• Data Driven Decisions on Capital Improvement Projects