Stop and Shop Receives LEED Certification

A Massachusetts-based grocery store chain has made the commitment to renewable energy by getting eight of their Connecticut stores including one in Rocky Hill Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, LEED, certified over the past few years.

The stores in Rocky Hill, Bristol, South Windsor, Southbury, North Berlin, Glastonbury, Fairfield and East Lyme meet LEED standards, according to Suzi Robinson, a spokesperson for the New England division of Stop and Shop.

“The store was built with the same energy efficient systems as the other stores in this group that allowed them to achieve LEED certification,” Robinson said about the Stop and Shop supermarket in Rocky Hill.

Robinson said the store has “sky lights to provide natural day-lighting of the sales floor" and “energy efficient T-5 fluorescent lighting that dims in response to an increase in available day light.” For example, the skylights should enable the managers to reduce lighting costs by 33 percent, Robinson said.

The store also features energy efficient heating and cooling systems and an improved thermal envelop to reduce the heating and cooling loads on the store, Robinson said. An automated energy management system is used to control and monitor “the building's refrigeration, HVAC and lighting systems,” Robinson added. 

“We realize our buildings can have a large impact, so we continually strive to reduce that impact,” Robinson said. “We build new stores to meet as many LEED energy performance requirements as possible; and we continually update our stores during the remodel process to improve energy conservation.”