The supermarket of the future? Sainsbury’s opens its most energy-efficient store in Hampshire

Whether it’s turning off lights when not in use or bringing a reusable water bottle instead of buying a plastic one, many of us are trying to take steps to reduce our carbon footprint.

Now Sainsbury’s has opened a new store that makes even your weekly grocery store more environmentally friendly.

The ‘pioneering’ store in Hook, Hampshire, is Sainsbury’s most energy efficient supermarket to date.

It has some impressive features, including doors on refrigerated display cases, 700 solar panels on the roof and even floor sensors that adjust the LED lighting to natural light.

“This is a really proud moment for Sainsbury’s as we launch a brilliant new supermarket that clearly demonstrates our commitment to reducing our impact on the environment,” said Ryan Cox, Sainsbury’s Hook Store Manager.

The 25,000-square-foot store runs on 100 percent renewable energy and is expected to use half the energy of a supermarket of similar size, according to Sainsbury’s.

Aisles are kept at their optimum temperature thanks to a “cold aisle pick-up” system that takes all the cold air leaving the refrigerators and moves it to other areas of the store to keep those aisles cooler.

Meanwhile, warm air is drawn from the back of the refrigerators and reused to heat other sections.

“About two-thirds of the energy consumed will be reused by the cold aisle collection system,” explains Sainsbury’s.

While most of us are used to only seeing doors on freezer cabinets, the Hook store has introduced doors on refrigerated cabinets.

Sainsbury’s claims this measure will help reduce energy needs by up to 60 percent.

Ambient air door curtains have also been fitted to reduce the store’s heating needs and reduce the risk of draughts.

LED lighting can be found throughout the store, while floor sensors ensure that the lighting adjusts to the level of natural daylight.

Meanwhile, on the outside of the store, shoppers will notice more than 700 solar panels on the roof, which are expected to provide up to 300 MWh of energy each year.

Sainsbury’s hopes the new store will become the standard for future UK supermarkets.

Patrick Dunne, Sainsbury’s Property Director, said: ‘I am extremely proud of everyone at Sainsbury’s who helped deliver this groundbreaking new store for us, the lessons of which will feed into future store investments.

“Sainsbury’s Hook is the culmination of many years of innovation, hard work and progress towards a more sustainable future for our business.”

Ranil Jayawardena, Member of Parliament for North East Hampshire who opened the story this morning, added: ‘I was delighted to open Sainsbury’s newest store today, a significant investment in my home village of Hook, and the creation of over 100 new jobs for local people .

“The new store will give a healthy boost to customer choice in the area and the fact that it is the most environmentally friendly, energy efficient store Sainsbury’s has ever opened makes it a special addition to the community here.”

Sainsbury’s isn’t the only food giant to open a proof-of-concept store to show off its green credentials.

At the end of 2021, McDonald’s opened its first ever ‘net zero’ restaurant in the town of Market Drayton in Shropshire.

It’s packed with eco-friendly features like a Drive-Thru lane made from recycled tires, wall art made from recycled polystyrene cups, and curbs made from recycled plastic bottles.

Building facades are made from recycled IT equipment such as printers and computer screens, as well as recycled white goods such as refrigerators and dishwashers.

McDonald’s said the new restaurant is “net zero” in terms of construction and operation, but admitted that items on the menu are not included in this classification, even though beef is believed to account for about 30 percent of the company’s carbon footprint.

The restaurant acts as a “blueprint” for future restaurants across the country, the fast food giant says.