Reducing energy usage

As we reported last year, trials of a combined Building Energy Management System (BEMS) with LED lighting delivered a 35% – 40% reduction in the daily energy load in the trial stores.

We have completed a combined Building Energy Management System/LED installation across our estate, which involved fitting LED lighting right across our sales floors and in illuminated display signage.The rollout to all stores is the biggest single project we have undertaken delivering annual savings of £3m in 2017/18.

As part of the new BEMS set-up we have installed eight temperature sensors across each of our stores, which record temperature data every 30 seconds. This helps control our in-store heating and cooling to maintain an optimum comfort level for our pets, customers and colleagues. Additional temperature probes in our quiet rooms ensure pets are kept within a temperature range that reflects current welfare guidelines. This is monitored centrally with any variance immediately reported and quickly rectified. We are also exploring the application of BEMS technology to control the temperatures in our in-store fish tanks and vivariums.