Star Market Case Study
The Chestnut Hill Star Market in Newton, MA is one of the nearly 200 stores in the Shaw’s/Star Market chain and a key member of the more than 2,200 grocery retail stores in the Supervalu family of supermarkets. Targeted as a test lab for energy-efficient technologies that Supervalu hopes to use in other stores, Star Market’s Chestnut Hill operation has become a model of sustainability, thanks in part to RTLED high performance systems from Lithonia Lighting.
Until recently, Star Market’s Chestnut Hill store, which comprises about 35,000 sq. ft of selling space, was illuminated by conventional incandescent and fluorescent lights. Today, it is one of the first grocery stores in the nation to be entirely lit with LEDs. In combination with other sustainability actions, including the use of fuel cell electricity and glycol/carbon dioxide refrigeration, the Star Market store also became the first to receive the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s GreenChill Partnership platinum award.
Ken Mahtesian, senior project manager with Shaw’s/Star Market, describes the store’s achievements. “In 2010, we are the only supermarket in the country that has all LED lighting on the sales floor. That’s all of the cases, all of the lights on the ceilings, right down to the fixtures and the soda machines on the sales floors. All LED lighting,” said Mahtesian. Best of all, “The LED lights consume about half the energy of more conventional incandescent or fluorescent lights.”
The RTLEDs have a 50,000-hour rated system life without having to change lamps or ballasts and are projected to last as long as 10 years, compared to conventional lighting that generally lasts between eight to 18 months. In addition, reports Supervalu’s director of engineering, Holly Angell, “We use half as many light bulbs than with conventional lighting.” The result is an estimated reduction in energy use of 50-65 percent due to the efficiency of the LEDs.
Drusilla Hufford, director of the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s stratospheric protection division, pointed to Star Market as a model business, “This store sets a new standard for environmental responsibility for others in the industry to work to match.’’
Mike Witynski, president of Shaw’s and Star Market, concurred, “We’re extremely excited – we’re proud of this store, we’re proud of this community.”
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