Mitchell is a small town servicing landholders in the western downs district of south west Queensland. Mitchell business owners were offered a level 2 energy audit to gather information on the typical energy use by their business and to gain an understanding of potential energy efficiency opportunities across the project area. Mitchell Butchery participated in the audit activity.

Aquatic Centres use an enormous amount of energy. But with efficiency measures, YMCA Spark pilot site Peter Krenz Aquatic Centre managed to cut electricity use by 8.5% and identified opportunities to save a further 20%. This Aquatic Centre found that by being more energy efficient and making some smart energy investments, they could have a reduction off their energy bills of at least $30,000 per year.

At the JW Kirkwood Ticehurst Orchard in Tasmania, 58% of  the annual electricity spend of around $90,000 is for refrigeration of its cool rooms and other systems. In WA, Newton Brothers packhouse and cold storage spends 70% of its $350,000 annual electricity costs on cold storage.  Both could save money by reducing the head pressure in their refrigeration units. this would cost around $5000, save between $2500 and $3500 a year and have a payback period of just 1-2 years.  

Radevski Coolstores in the Goulburn Valley Victoria is a major supplier of apples and pears to Coles. It undertook a $1.15 million upgrade of 2 cool store systems, to allow the plant to operate on ammonia as a refrigerant, and to use condenser fan speed control (using variable speed drives) to further improve performance. The results were significant: one site recorded 60% reduction in its maximum electrical demand, and the upgrades will cut the company’s energy costs by 25%. 

The Woodburn Orchard’s facility in Batlow NSW produces and packs around 4000 tonnes of apples a year. Woodburn is classified as a large enterprise when compared to other orchards that were audited. From March 2013 to February 2014 the pack house and cold stores consumed over 488,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity at a cost of approximately $138,000. The biggest opportunity for Woodburn to reduce electricity costs is to optimise its ‘power factor’. Site saving opportunities:
• save up to $3500 a year, with an initial capital investment of $8500

Queensland Murray Darling Committee Inc (QMDC) completed an energy audit on an aged care facility near Warwick, Queensland. The retirement home consists of single level accommodation buildings and the capacity to accommodate 40 residents. During the Financial Years 2012/13, the facility consumed 114,467 kWh of electricity, emitting 98 tonnes of carbon. An energy audit identified potential energy efficiency cost savings worth approximately $4,257 per annum with an average payback period of 3.1 years.

The ‘Watts in Your Business’ project conducted by Apple and Pear Australia Ltd completed energy audits of 30 packhouses and orchards Australia-wide. This fact sheet shows how refrigeration changes can cut energy use and save money.

The owners of a black Angus breeding and fattening operation on a small, pastoral property north west of Roma Queensland, were using dated refrigeration units to cool and store beef as well as other household perishable goods. An officer from Queensland Murray-Darling Committee’s (QMDC) Energy Efficiency Information Grant project was engaged to conduct an audit of the property’s energy use to ascertain whether savings could be achieved.

The average small-medium retail business can use 80,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity a year. This factsheet shows how one business, Bottle King Liquor, saved on energy costs to run its fridges. By installing fridge timers, the business saved $135 a year for the running costs of each of its 7 drinks fridges, a $950 annual saving that was paid back in less than 2 months.

The average small-medium retail business can use 80,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity a year. Makin’ Groceries in Brunswick Victoria saved on the energy costs of running its walk-in cool room by implementing simple actions including replacing door seals, turning lights off when the cool room is unoccupied, storing produce as soon as it arrives to prevent heat gain from ambient air, regulating temperatures between 3 and 4°C, and keeping the cool room three quarters full (this is more efficient than running it half full).