Regardless of the utility zone, the rate of cost increase is unsustainable for most producers. Switching to renewables is a great idea, but an even better idea is to simply reduce the amount of energy being consumed.

With 75% of the average winery’s electricity bill owing to cooling costs, the opportunity for reducing monthly costs is significant (between 20% and 40%). After combining immediate savings with rebates/incentives and financing programs, the average winery deploying energy saving technology should have positive cash flow in the first year.

A great combination for most wineries is PolarClad insulation, VinFoil mixers, and VinWizard load scheduling, pulse cooling, and VinFoil automation. This strategy should guarantee a winery 30% total cost savings on their chilling. Reach out to me or BevZero if you’d like to mitigate California utility costs.

Commercial/light-industrial energy trends mirror the residential energy chart below.