Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are designed to make a building more comfortable for its occupants. In the case of retail businesses that means customers and staff. Several zero-cost measures can be included to improve energy management control in retail organisations.

Useful HVAC controls include:

• In winter, customers are likely to be wearing outdoor clothing and there is a risk of them being uncomfortably warm, which could reduce their time browsing and shopping in the store. Switch off or set thermostats to around 19°C (reducing the temperature by just 1° C can cut energy consumption by 8 %). 
• In summer, customers are likely to be lightly dressed and hence may become uncomfortably cool and spend less time browsing. Hold off using cooling systems until the temperature exceeds 24° C.
• Take advantage of natural ventilation and free cooling to halve energy costs.
• Shut down the heating or air conditioning an hour before closing. The heat trapped in the store should be enough to last until the end of the day.
• Turn down HVAC systems for the periods when the store is closed. Also, reduce heating or cooling to a minimum in the non-public areas of your premises.
• Use automatic timers to regulate the temperature and shut it down outside trading hours.
• Don’t let heating and cooling operate at the same time.
• Ensure that any entrance over door heaters or air curtains are switched off outside trading hours. Fit a time switch if necessary.
• Ensure heating, ventilation and extraction controls match your trading hours and do not run unnecessarily out of these hours.
• Switch off space-heating boilers in summer and chillers in winter, if possible.
• Install sensors and automatic doors to reduce heat loss from open doors in cold climates.
• Replace inefficient old heaters and air conditioners. Newer models reduce energy consumption.
• Regular cleaning of ventilation systems can increase efficiency by as much as 25 % compared with unmaintained systems.