Retailer Energy Alliance Project Teams

The Retailer Energy Alliance (REA) Project Teams encompass five areas in retail buildings and operations that require best practices toolkits as well as further research on innovative, cost-effective technologies. Here you will find a brief description of each Project Team.

Retailers who want to join REA must choose at least one Project Team of interest for their participation. Each Project Team works closely with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and national laboratories to conduct a select number of projects annually that explore energy-efficiency technologies and best practices for more energy-efficient commercial buildings.

Learn more by reading the Retailer Energy Alliance Project Teams fact sheet.

Lighting and Electrical: Members are working to develop more cost-effective and high-quality light-emitting diode (LED) light sources for interior and exterior store lighting and parking lot lighting. Retailers also utilize and refine DOE-developed, whole-building Commercial Lighting Solutions for new retail stores. In addition, members work to improve the energy efficiency of other electrical equipment and plug loads.

Learn more by viewing technology and system specifications developed by the Project Team and fact sheets about the Project Team's work:

Read a fact sheet about lessons learned from DOE GATEWAY demonstration projects completed on LED site lighting applications to date.

Restaurant and Food Preparation: Members are focusing on the development of high-efficiency heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for restaurants, including improved exhaust hoods, fans, and ducts. In addition, members are targeting improved waste heat recovery technologies, better benchmarking standards, and best practices for peak shaving opportunities.

Refrigeration: Members are promoting research and development (R&D) of a more efficient design for new refrigeration units, including display cases, coolers and freezers, compressor systems, and controls. Members are also focusing on improving the energy efficiency of existing refrigeration systems through operational procedures or retrofit options.

HVAC Systems: Members are creating a data repository of results from retailer pilot projects and best practices for HVAC systems. In addition, members are: developing more effective HVAC systems and the tools for analyzing and implementing them; identifying heat recovery opportunities; and exploring building envelope improvements and dehumidification techniques that can reduce the workload of HVAC systems. A particular focus of this Project Team is The Western Cooling Challenge , which encourages suppliers, retailers, and manufacturers to work together to develop new rooftop units for cooling in dry climates. Learn more about the technology and system specification being developed by the Project Team for Unitary Air Conditioner Rooftop Units.

Whole Building Systems: Members are working to impact additional cross-cutting systems and technologies for improved energy-efficient design and operation across the whole retail building. Members are working with utilities to develop intuitive control systems, exploring water efficiency practices, and investigating and promoting the use of renewable materials.

Image of a bar graph entitled 'Energy Use Intensity (EUI) by Commercial Building Subsector.' The y-axis shows EUI measured in kBtu/ft2*y, and the x-axis shows EUI in 5 commercial building sectors broken into ten areas (interior lighting, exterior lighting, plug and process, fans, heating, cooling, service hot water, refrigeration, gas appliances, and other). Total Warehouse EUI is 33.53 with the following breakout: Interior Lighting 14.27, Exterior Lighting 0.18, Plug and Process 3.18, Fans 2.85, Heating 7.29, Cooling 2.15, Service Hot Water 0.15, Refrigeration 0.87, Gas Appliances 0, and Other 2.61. Total Retail EUI is 74.11 with the following breakout: Interior Lighting 23.88, Exterior Lighting 0.24, Plug and Process 6.36, Fans 7.66, Heating 19.27, Cooling 10.03, Service Hot Water 0.80, Refrigeration 3.55, Gas Appliances 0.47, and Other 1.85. Total Food Service EUI is 361.56 with the following breakout: Interior Lighting 22.65, Exterior Lighting 0.33, Plug and Process 33.81, Fans 32.31, Heating 36.66, Cooling 50.34, Service Hot Water 45.11, Refrigeration 33.54, Gas Appliances 104.19, and Other 2.61. Total Food Sales EUI is 198.30 with the following breakout: Interior Lighting 33.63, Exterior Lighting 0.35, Plug and Process 10.87, Fans 14.53, Heating 29.04, Cooling 18.37, Service Hot Water 6.03, Refrigeration 74.97, Gas Appliances 7.88, and Other 2.64. Total Refrigerated Warehouse EUI is 86.18 with the following breakout: Interior Lighting 18.74, Exterior Lighting 0.10, Plug and Process 2.19, Fans 5.54, Heating 4.50, Cooling 5.29, Service Hot Water 0.21, Refrigeration 45.82, Gas Appliances 3.23, and Other 0.57.

A common metric that is used to evaluate the energy consumption of a building is known as the energy use intensity (EUI). EUI refers to the energy consumed by a building per year and per unit of floor area. The REA Project Teams will tackle the areas where EUI can be significantly reduced.

This data was generated using EnergyPlus building energy simulation software.

Image of a bar graph entitled 'Retail Sector: Potential for Energy Cost Savings Using Readily Available 'Maximum Technologies'. Technology available in the year 2025 is expected to produce significantly more efficient commercial buildings - this is referred to as Max Tech. The y-axis is in billions of dollars per year. The x-axis displays five sets of bars (two bars in each set) which provide energy costs for commercial building sectors in billions of dollars per year. The first bar is 'Warehouse, Existing' at $7.17 billion per year. The second bar is 'Warehouse, Max Tech' at 3.52. The third bar is 'Retail, Existing' at 7.30. The fourth bar is 'Retail, Max Tech' at 2.98. The fifth bar is 'Food Services, Existing' at 10.66. The sixth bar is 'Food Services, Max Tech' at 7.98. The seventh bar is 'Food Sales, Existing' at 5.37. The Eighth bar is 'Food Sales, Max Tech' at 3.08. The Ninth bar is 'Refrigerated Warehouse, Existing' at 0.90. The tenth bar is 'Refrigerated Warehouse, Max Tech' at 0.53.

The energy consumed by retail buildings can be substantially reduced by using the best available technology. "Maximum Technologies" is an estimate of performance levels in the year 2025, and includes improvements in building envelope, lighting systems, plug and process loads, HVAC, and on-site generation. Max Tech is largely achievable today. One of the tasks for each Project Team is to identify the technologies that are the most promising in reducing energy usage and energy costs.