“Background: National Stores Inc. is a family-owned retail chain headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with more than 360 locations in twenty-two states and Puerto Rico. They offer brand-name and private-label clothing, shoes, and household items.
Problem: Without an energy management system in place, all energy control was at the store level which meant store managers simply had to ‘remember to check’ daily that everything was turned off or set correctly before they closed up each night– an extra responsibility that was often forgotten.
Leaving HVAC systems running burned unnecessary cash and meant extra stress and maintenance on machinery, leading to system failures during hot summer days. What National Stores needed was some way of taking control of the HVAC systems in the stores and regulating them without having to rely on the memory and willingness of the store managers.
National Stores, like many other multi-site commercial businesses, had been deterred from adopting an energy management system as they believed them to be disruptive, costly, slow to show ROI and a huge undertaking from the point of view of the infrastructure required within the building.
With hundreds of locations across North America, National Stores needed:
Solution: Energy Professionals technology partner, Zen Ecosystems provides intelligent energy management solutions to businesses and consumers. Zen HQ is an energy management system designed for the unique needs of businesses and utilities to provide insights and control over multisite commercial energy usage while delivering the fastest payback in the market. The Zen Thermostat is a beautiful, simple connected device for home and business that also enables multi system operators to enhance the customer experience.
As part of the nation-wide deployment across National Stores’ locations, Zen HQ was installed in the company’s corporate offices where more than 200 employees are located. Zen HQ enabled National Stores to define schedules at a national, regional and site level to effectively manage HVAC usage and included lockout controls to prevent on-site deviations from schedules. Management could view heating, cooling, lighting and energy usage in dynamic visual graphs in Zen HQ to monitor usage and consumption more easily. This resulted in National Stores having:
Energy Professionals is committed to finding its customers the best possible rates on electricity and natural gas. Tell us your location and service type and our energy manager will connect you to the most competitive offers.
Switching to an alternate supplier is easy. There is no chance of service disruption, and you'll continue with your current utility for energy delivery and emergency service. Take a few minutes to discover your best offers, and enjoy the benefits of retail energy in your home or business.
1. Energy Type
2. Service Type
3. Zip Code