Axiom's Addition of A/C
If you’ve been following Axiom Cloud, you’re likely aware of our vision to make the world’s cooling systems sustainable. While our first focus was and continues to be refrigeration management and optimization, it has been obvious from the start of Axiom’s journey that HVAC management would be the logical next step. After all, supermarket refrigeration and HVAC systems are heavily coupled, and they often use the same controllers.
This is why we’re happy to announce our first feature release for HVAC systems: demand response. For the unfamiliar, demand response (DR) is a tool used by many electric utilities that helps reduce stress on the grid during peak usage periods. During these peak times, utilities will send out signals asking enrolled customers to reduce energy consumption - and pay them for doing so!
“By reducing energy consumption during the grid’s “dirtiest” hours, supermarkets and cold storage facilities can reduce their own Scope 2 emissions while helping utilities keep their less efficient “peaker plants” from running.”
These payments often add up to thousands of dollars per year for the average grocery store, which can make a big difference for an industry with an average profit margin of ~2%. Participating in demand response programs with refrigeration and HVAC systems can also help businesses achieve their sustainability goals. By reducing energy consumption during the grid’s “dirtiest” hours, supermarkets and cold storage facilities can reduce their own Scope 2 emissions while helping utilities keep their less efficient “peaker plants” from running.
Axiom Cloud has already been helping our customers earn new revenue by safely and automatically using low-temperature refrigeration loads to participate in DR programs across North America. By also leveraging HVAC systems, which are often a store’s second largest energy consumer, our customers are now able to increase their DR revenues by 25-50%. For even more information about DR, check out our webinar earlier this year that was all about demand response in retail grocery.
Today, HVAC demand response features are only available at facilities that use the same controller for both their refrigeration and HVAC systems. As we incorporate HVAC systems into our digital twin models of supermarkets and distribution centers, we expect to add more and more HVAC features to our Facilities Analyzer, Virtual Technician, and Virtual Battery apps. Continue following our blog or sign up for our mailing list if you want to be among the first to hear about new feature announcements!
Axiom Cloud’s mission is to use software and automation to transform how the world’s cooling systems are powered, operated, and maintained, in order to generate significant climate and financial impact. Axiom’s team of refrigeration experts, data scientists, energy nerds, and software developers solves retail grocery’s biggest energy and maintenance challenges by layering intelligence onto their existing refrigeration systems. If you’re interested in learning more about our mission or our apps for commercial refrigeration, please contact us today.