DeCicco & Sons Earns EPA’s Highest Certification

In its newest store in Larchmont, N.Y., DeCicco & Sons combined its traditional focus on quality with an emphasis on innovative “Green & Clean” technologies to earn the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Platinum GreenChill certification. It's the highest level of the program and DeCicco & Sons is the first store in Westchester County to earn the certification.

The certification level is based on leak and charge levels as well as use of low-GWP refrigerants. The Larchmont store is one of only a few in the country to invest in Hillphoenix’s CO2 Advansar booster system. The company also invested in two Trillium adiabatic gas coolers from Baltimore Aircoli to maintain efficiency at high ambient temperatures.

“The temperature control, strength of the cold, and product longevity are unmatched compared to any other refrigerant. Plus, the efficiency of the system - in terms of the reduced electrical load and quantity of the waste heat - is a tremendous asset to help reduce the store’s overall energy use,” said John DeCicco Jr., president of the six-store chain based in Ardsley, N.Y.

The new refrigeration system transfers the heat generated to reusable energy that is in turn used to power machines to chill water, and provide heat and hot water for the entire store. This reusable energy provides 60 percent of the store’s heating and hot water needs.

DeCicco continued, "I have learned that the successful solution for utmost energy efficiency is not doing only one thing, but doing many things …  having all of the advancements and technologies working together as one… not individual or independent installations, but a multiple of components that feed off one another. It’s a significant investment, but we firmly believe, a smart one with long lasting dividends for years to come,” DeCicco added.

DeCicco & Sons also made several other green energy choices in the new store:

• Rooftop solar panels that generate 75 percent of the store’s electricity
• Daylight harvesting controls to offset lighting energy
• Motion sensors to reduce electricity use during low occupancy hours
• Advanced, energy-efficient LED lighting that uses a quarter of the energy compared to conventional lighting
• Night curtains on open refrigeration units that reduce energy usage by 50 percent
• Low flow fixtures and appliances to reduce water usage
• Used recycled glass Pozzotive instead of Portland cement
• Used reclaimed wood and bricks for interior