Indiana University Bloomington
Tier2-4: Vending Machine Sensors

IUB is currently working with Coca Cola's machine technicians to make programming changes to existing vending machines for energy conservation. Of 2 machines currently monitored, an older machine has been using about 730 watts when its compressor & fan are running and 218 watts when they are off but the lights and controls are still on. Over the last five days the machine has averaged 463 watts. That average load costs us about $240 per year when you add a 5% distribution losses to the $.060 / kWh unit rate at the meters. The north machine is a newer vintage and it has averaged only 296 watts, which costs us about $160 per year. The Coca Cola tech added a VM2iQ Energy Management System unit by USA Technologies to the south machine. IUB agreed to program the EMS unit so that it will gradually limit the compressor & fan cycles when there is little use of the machine and when the drink temperatures are within acceptable temperature ranges anytime between 11:30 PM and 5:30 am seven days a week. Predicted energy savings with these settings will be about 35%. On the older machine, the Coca Cola tech also set the front panel back lights to go off from 11 PM until 6 AM. The newer machine was already equipped with enough programming capability to allow the tech to make the same programming changes, as listed above, without installing an EMS unit. The need for adding labels to the front of the cold drink machines to identify which ones have been reprogrammed for energy savings and labels/tables on the back or internally that list the program schedule details has also been discussed.