During the months of October and November 2015, GMD Solutions, in collaboration with Energio, carried out energy audits for Decathlon, specifically in 34 stores of the multinational company located in different places of Spain (Catalonia, Galicia, Valencia, Andalusia, etc). The French group proposed to execute these studies to comply with the European directive 2012/27/EU designed to create a common framework and promote energy efficiency within the European Union to establish concrete actions to implement some of the proposals included in the Energy Efficiency Plan 2011. These energy-efficiency audits consist of analyzing the energy status of each store, assessing the type and condition of the envelope and installations (mainly air conditioning, lighting, and DHW), and the presence or absence of renewable energy systems. In addition, each audit proposes a series of measures that would allow maintaining a good operation of the store reducing its energy consumption.
Some of the most common measures that can be found for this type of building are the following:
- Replacement of traditional lighting with LED technology.
The replacement of traditional luminaires, such as fluorescent tubes, metal halide lamps, and CFC downlights, allows savings equal to or greater than 60% of light consumption. Decathlon has already started to replace the lighting grids in several stores and is working on extending this measure to all its stores.
- Replacement of old air conditioning units.
Some stores were built in the early 2000s and even earlier. Since then, the performance of the air conditioning machines has improved considerably. The vast majority of Decathlon stores have large rooftop units. Depending on the location of the store and the corresponding climate, the replacement of these machines can allow a saving of 15% in the total electrical consumption.
- Installation of a photovoltaic cover.
In some regions of Spain, the significant solar radiation makes it advisable to use solar energy to support the electricity supply of a store such as Decathlon’s. This type of installation would allow savings of 30% in electricity consumption.
In addition, the audits not only propose measures to optimize the use of energy but also the optimization of each store’s electricity contracts. Among other measures that were proposed, we can highlight the reduction of the contracted power or the installation of capacitor banks to reduce the consumption of reactive energy.
The Decathlon energy efficiency audits are the second major project carried out by GMD Solutions with its partner Energio after the lighting of RealCafé Bernabéu. This project is part of GMD’s energy efficiency portfolio. It joins other projects such as the energy efficiency audit and certification of the Royal Hideaway Sancti Petri Hotel in Chiclana de la Frontera, and the drafting and registration of energy efficiency certificates for 14 centers of the Madrid Regional Ministry of Social Affairs (Consejería de Asuntos Sociales de la Comunidad de Madrid) covering over 25,000m2. On the other hand, it is not the first project of our company with the Decathlon group, since we have led projects in different cities of the Spanish geography, such as Decathlon Berango, Decathlon Cadiz, and Decathlon Princesa among others.