UK retailer Sainsbury’s has launched a new flagship supermarket which is being promoted as its most energy-efficient supermarket.
Located in Hampshire, Sainsbury’s Hook is projected to use only half the energy of a similar-sized Sainsbury’s store and 25% less electricity than its other most energy-efficient supermarkets.
“I’m immensely proud of everyone at Sainsbury’s who has helped to deliver what is a ground-breaking new store for us, the learnings from which will be used in future store investments,” says Sainsbury’s Property Director Patrick Dunne.
“Sainsbury’s Hook is the culmination of many years of innovation, hard work and progress towards a more sustainable future for our business.”
The store will operate using 100% renewable electricity and will not rely on any fossil fuels.
It will keep aisles at their optimum temperature using a cold aisle retrieval system, which takes any air that may leave the fridges and displaces it to other areas of the store to keep those aisles cooler. Warm air is then taken from the back of its fridges and re-purposed to heat other sections. About two-thirds of the energy consumed will be reused by the cold aisle retrieval system.
Sainsbury’s Hook is part of a new trial, too, that uses doors on chilled cabinets, keeping cold air in and reducing their energy demands by up to 60%. Further energy savings have been driven by adding lids on frozen food display cabinets, which work in the same way.
Ambient air door curtains are expected to help reduce the store’s heating requirements and make customers’ experience more comfortable by counteracting naturally occurring drafts.
100% LED lighting has also been installed throughout the store. On the shop floor, sensors will enable the lights to adapt in response to the level of natural daylight so that energy isn’t wasted.
In further initiatives, Sainsbury’s Hook features low-pressure bathroom taps and rainwater harvesting, and has over 700 solar panels on its roof.