As recently reported by SBT's sister site EnergyTech, Meritage Hospitality Group, the largest Wendy’s franchise owner, announced it will deploy smart buildings technology firm GridPoint’s platform at 345 of its restaurant locations.
The GridPoint platform enables customers to automate and control their assets. Moreover, the franchise will be able to generate additional revenue by making its sites' grid interactive, so the aggregated energy from small energy reductions across the commercial buildings can be leveraged as an energy resource to support utilities.
The smart building solution, powered by proprietary deep data and powerful analytics capabilities, will provide visibility into energy usage at the building level. The stakeholders said the deployed technology will deliver energy efficiency and resiliency to the sites and the power grid.
Case study
The work between Meritage Hospitality Group and GridPoint started in February 2021 with a five-site pilot. The aim during the pilot was to reduce energy usage by at least 10% and provide detailed reporting and analytics.
The pilot was successful and a Florida site achieved 23% energy savings, according to a press release.
“During our pilot with GridPoint our locations saw an immediate reduction of energy consumption -- and we discovered a correctable equipment issue causing excess, avoidable energy costs,” explained Greg Corr, Executive Vice President at Meritage Hospitality Group.
Corr added, “They helped us optimize HVAC run-times and electrical demand to make our restaurants more efficient while also ensuring comfort for our customers and employees. Ultimately our partnership with GridPoint results in lower energy and operational costs, more resilient buildings, and a more sustainable franchise to support continued growth of the Wendy’s brand.”
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