Hannaford Supermarkets

When grocery shoppers in New England and New York want quality products and great value, they depend on Hannaford Supermarkets. Based in Scarborough, Maine, Hannaford operates more than 180 stores and employs more than 27,000 associates in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont.

In Vermont, Hannaford has completed no less than 36 energy efficiency projects since 2012. They’ve included lighting and controls retrofits, refrigerated case night curtains, freezer coffin covers, doors to enclose open cases, LED case light retrofits and controls, Green Chill Heat Recovery, Heat Seal units, and evaporator motors. Together, these projects have helped Hannaford save more than 3.2 million kWh, as well as more than $400,000, annually.

Now, at its Brandon, Vermont store, Hannaford is involved in one of its most ambitious energy efficiency projects to date—a deep energy retrofit that will reduce energy use by 50 percent when the project is completed this year. When Hannaford learned about Efficiency Vermont’s deep energy retrofit pilot, it offered the Brandon store as its “worst offender.” Once Hannaford accepted this challenge, its engineering team worked with Efficiency Vermont to design and plan retrofits to lighting, HVAC, refrigeration, and plug loads.  

The Brandon store has already received a complete store LED lighting upgrade. Now, retrofits are in the process of being completed to the store’s refrigeration, HVAC, heat recovery, building controls, and merchandising cases. In keeping with Hannaford’s unwavering commitment to both energy efficiency and customer service, the store relies on enthusiastic employee engagement to promote the project. Store front posters have been hung, and there’s a “50% reduction thermometer” in the break room, so that employees can see how the retrofits are progressing. There’s also a graph showing how much electricity usage has been reduced since the LED retrofit.

Hannaford has found resourceful ways of promoting energy efficiency to its customers as well. When shoppers grab items from the reach-in case doors, they see decals noting the benefits of the LED lights in those cases. There are also motion sensors which turn the lights off when nobody is in the aisle.

Efficiency Vermont has worked hand-in-hand with Hannaford staff to assist with upgrades to the entire fleet of stores in Vermont. Efficiency Vermont offers technical assistance, financial incentives, metering and savings calculations, and custom measure analysis. 

Along with providing efficiency program incentives for the Brandon projects, Efficiency Vermont is assisting Hannaford staff members on small measure impacts that will ultimately have large impacts on the store and the chain. This attention to detailed, strategic planning of initiatives has already made a noticeable positive impact throughout the Hannaford chain. For example, Efficiency Vermont sub-metered multiple vendor-provided beverage coolers to identify the most energy efficient model for the Brandon store. As a result, Hannaford is now developing a policy for all its stores in New England and New York, requiring their vending partners to provide the most efficient beverage cases available.

Now that the Brandon store is well on its way to becoming one of Hannaford’s biggest energy efficiency success stories, Hannaford eagerly shares its success through networking opportunities, conferences, and best practice exchanges.

Hannaford is proving that it’s more than possible to respond to customer needs and the needs of our planet at the same time. In Brandon, as well as in stores throughout its chain, Hannaford demonstrates that measures large and small can yield positive results and substantial savings.