Enhanced automation allows
Staples to shed 2.8 MW across
119 stores from a single location
.
CASE STUDY
SUMMARY
Staples installed wireless
control technology that
allows them to automati-
cally reduce lighting and
HVAC loads at 119 of
their California stores.
Participant :
Staples , Inc.
Building Type:
Retail, multi-site
Site Size:
2.6 million ft
2
/
119 stores
Project Cost :
$320,000
Project Incentives:
$300,000
Primary Benefit :
2.8 MW curtailable
demand
A success story from the
CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION
Enhanced Automation Case Study 5
HVAC & Lighting Controls /Retail Chain
I
n response to the California electricity crisis, Staples, Inc.
investigated ways to insulate their California stores from record-
high wholesale electricity rates. With funding from the California
Energy Commission and help from Energy Logic, Inc., an energy
consulting firm, Staples installed wireless control technology that
allows them to automatically reduce the lighting and HVAC loads at
most of their California stores. Staples can now curtail up to 2.8 MW
of demand within minutes without compromising customer comfort.
pg_0002
From their headquarters in
Massachusetts, executives
at Staples, Inc. were
watching with increasing
concern as the energy crisis unfolded in
California during the summer and fall of
2000. Almost one-tenth of Staples’ 1,300
office supply superstores were located in
the territories of the three California
investor-owned utilities, which were paying
record-high wholesale electricity prices.
In Southern California, the high cost of
energy was being passed on to the utility’s
customers— including Staples. The waves
of rolling blackouts that followed in the
early months of 2001 did little to assuage
Staples’ concerns about the future cost and
supply of energy in California.
Energy Logic, Inc., an energy-consulting firm in Massachusetts, devised and
implemented an energy management plan for Staples that would help insulate
several California stores from surging demand charges and rolling blackouts.
The plan involved the installation of wireless control technology that allows
Staples personnel to send electronic pages from the Internet to automatically reduce the lighting
and HVAC loads at selected California stores. To verify the load reductions, Staples also
installed modem-enabled utility meters at each of the stores. Energy Logic, Inc. secured funding
for the project from the California Energy Commission. Action Electric and Novar Controls
undertook the electrical and programming aspects of the work, respectively.
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
Rising energy costs
Decentralized loads
throughout retail
chain
Unreliable energy
supply
Automated control
of lighting and HVAC
loads
Centralized control
of decentralized
loads
Load verification
metering system
With the ability to curtail peak demand from virtually anywhere
within a matter of minutes
,
Staples can insulate themselves from
electricity price volatility
.
In addition
,
their enhanced automation
system puts Staples in a position to take advantage of real-time
pricing and demand reduction programs
.
The above graph compares baseline and curtailable
energy demand in 70 of Staples’ California stores.
The curtailed demand was measured on July 3, 2001,
when curtailment began at 1:00 p.m in response to a
Stage 2 emergency. The baseline demand was calculated
as the average demand over five preceding non-
holiday weekdays.
Baseline versus Curtailed Load at 70 Staples Stores
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
Baseline Load
Curtailed Load
pg_0003
Staples now has the ability to curtail up to 2.8 MW of demand within minutes
without affecting customer comfort. This not only leads to significant savings
in demand charges during peak periods, but also strengthens the reliability of
regional electricity supplies in the event of a Stage 2 or Stage 3 emergency. The
ability to curtail, along with the load-verification metering system, also enables Staples to
participate in a California Independent System Operator
program that pays incentives for each kW reduced during
peak demand times.
Because the system is based on wireless Internet paging
technology, the lighting and HVAC equipment at the 119
stores can be controlled from Staples’ headquarters in
Massachusetts. This centralized remote control helps Staples
ensure consistency of operation among its stores, a key
criterion for the new system.
Staples’ new energy information system allows Staples
personnel to access and view 15-minute meter data from a
password-protected Web site as soon as the following day.
Data is being archived on the site so that Staples can analyze
energy use patterns to make further efficiency improvements.
By reviewing demand levels, Staples is able to verify that the
paging signals are successfully reaching the facilities and
controlling the targeted equipment.
Energy cost
savings
Automated load
shedding
Consistency of
operation across
multiple stores
Ability to
participate in
incentive
programs
BENEFITS
PROJECT SITE DESCRIPTION
Location:
Throughout California
Size:
2.6 million ft
2
Space Function:
Retail
Number of Stores :
119
Contact:
Bob Valair
Director of Energy and
Environmental Management
Energy Usage
Peak Demand:
12.8 MW
Curtailable Demand:
2.8 MW
Equipment Installed
Pager-activated relays
Modem-enabled inter val meters
Phone lines
Project Cost
$320,000
Project Incentives
$300,000
pg_0004
Technical Information
S
taples’ California locations were
already utilizing a Novar energy
management system (EMS) with
direct digital control over the lighting
and HVAC systems. The challenge
was creating a load-curtailment
strategy that could be activated at all
119 stores within a half an hour and
from Massachusetts headquarters.
Carolyn Banks of Energy Logic ,
Staples’ energy consultant , first
investigated a radio-activated relay
system, but discovered that Staples would be unable to purchase the use of radio antennae
needed to carry the radio signals. Banks therefore recommended that Staples purchase a
paging-activated relay system offered by Cannon to give Staples wireless centralized control
via pages that are activated from Web-enabled software. The purchase also allowed Staples
to use any of the available paging carriers.
There are two basic components of the Internet paging system: (1) a set of three relays that
were installed in each store and wired into the store’s EMS and (2) Web-enabled software
that allows equipment operation to be scheduled and activated over the Internet. Each
of the three relays corresponds to a curtailment level. Level one reduces half of a store’s
lighting and powers down one rooftop HVAC unit (RTU). Each additional relay powers
down one more RTU. The relays can be activated all at once or in stages. The software
that initiates the pages is linked to a Web server, so Staples personnel can program the
activation of relays through a standard browser from virtually anywhere.
Because Staples wanted to be eligible for participation in a demand reduction program
offered by California’s Independent System Operator, Staples needed to install a utility-grade
interval meter at each of the 119 stores. These meters measure and store energy use in
15-minute increments and are equipped with a telephone modem. Staples can log onto a
Web site provided by Datapult, an energy information service provider that collects and
archives raw meter data , and view and analyze their energy consumption information in a
variety of formats. This system gives Staples next-day access to their metered data.
TAKING THE NEXT STEP
Free resources are available from the
California Energy Commission.
Business Case Guidebook
Technical Options Guidebook
Contractor and Vendor Lists
Technical Assistance
Case Studies
Alameda County
HVAC Controls/
Government Facility
Hewlett-Packard
Company
HVAC and Lighting Controls/
Office Campus
Comerica Building
HVAC and Lighting Controls/
Large Office Building
Foothill-De Anza
Community Colleges
HVAC and Lighting Controls/
College Campuses
Doubletree Hotel
Sacramento
HVAC and Lighting Controls/
Hotel and Convention Center
Contact us for free materials or for
further information:
1-866-732-5591
enhancedautomation@xenergy.com
www.ConsumerEnergyCenter.org/
enhancedautomation
Additional Resources
California Energy
Commission
www.energy.ca.gov/
peakload /index.html
Cash for Kilowatts Web site
www.energy.ca.gov/peakload/cash_
kilowatts.html
(also for 50-200 kW demand)
Your local utility
www.sdge.com/business /drp.html
www.pge.com/003_save_energy/
003b_bus/index.shtml
www.sce.com/sc3/002_save_
energy/002i_load_redn/default.htm
1
2
3
4
6
Meter
Schematic of Staples’ System
Individual
User
Local
EMS
Lights/RTU
RTU
RTU
Internet
Relay Control
Relay Control
Relay Control
Printed on recycled paper with soy based ink