FRS Moves Toward Energy Efficiency

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What started as an at-home project for FRS President Don Ball has resulted in a corporate-wide initiative for FRS to be more energy efficient. In May of 2017, Ball installed 42 solar panels at his home on Johns Island, SC. The panels will provide about 70% of his family's annual historical electricity usage. With the addition of a spray foam (SPF) attic enclosure and a new higher seer HVAC unit, this percentage will climb to almost 100% of annual usage. This sparked Ball to explore how FRS could also be more mindful of energy consumption, and we are happy to announce that we are actively making positive changes to this end at all four of our locations...

  • FRS corporate office and Charleston location:  There will be 288 solar panels installed in late September 2017 which will generate approximately 320 watts each for a total annual production of approximately 87,000 kWh (kilowatt hours). This is roughly 97% of the annual historical electricity usage at our Charleston building. This movement towards "going green" is equivalent to planting over 1,650 trees or, during its lifetime, taking 360 cars off the roads. In addition to solar panels, we have invested in T8 LED lighting and fans from the Big Ass Fan company which both reduce energy consumption.
  • Florence location: There will be 88 solar panels installed in October/November 2017 for a total annual production of approximately 30,000 kWh. This is roughly 60% of our annual historical electricity usage at that facility. Later this month, we will be installing a new roof, front doors, windows and insulation. We have also installed LED lighting in the offices, showroom and warehouse. The combination of these efforts should account for over 80% of our annual electrical usage in Florence.  This is equivalent to planting approximately 500 trees or, during its lifetime, taking 108 cars off the roads.
  • Columbia location: Plans for our location in Columbia are in the works and will be implemented in 2018. The system there will account for a total annual production of approximately 30,000-40,000 kWh.
  • Asheville location: We will not be making a solar energy investment at our Asheville location since we do not own that building, but we have recently installed new energy efficient light fixtures there. Since Asheville is very forward thinking community in terms of green initiatives, we also proudly recycle as much as possible and offer certain products that are more "green" than traditional food service products at that location.

Overall, we are thrilled about the strides that we are making towards energy efficiency at our locations in the Carolinas. We encourage you to look into how you can make a difference at your home or business. One positive change at a time by people motivated to make a difference will make a big impact!