By Nick Wirth, founder and CTO, Wirth Research – the award-winning British engineering consultancy.
The UK’s retail industry spends more than £3.3 billion a year on energy. It’s a daunting figure for a sector already facing tight margins, changing consumer expectations and increasingly complex sustainability demands. Yet it also represents a major opportunity – because when you improve energy efficiency, you don’t just cut costs, you accelerate progress toward net zero.
Shops and supermarkets together account for nearly 5% of the UK’s total energy consumption. Rising energy use has been driven by longer opening hours, larger stores and new technologies that enhance customer experience, but also draw power. At the same time, costs continue to increase. A forthcoming change to TNUoS charges – covering grid maintenance – means retailers could see additional energy costs across 2026.
There’s no question the industry is under pressure. New figures from the British Retail Consortium’s Carbon Reduction Roadmap show emissions from stores are up more than 10% since 2019. For many, the challenge has become balancing essential operational needs now with the long-term goal of carbon reduction. It’s a difficult equation – but one that can be solved through precision engineering rather than compromise.
From racing to retail
My background is in Formula One, where I led design for teams like Benetton and Simtek, pioneering the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) – the virtual wind tunnel that revolutionised car development. In motorsport, efficiency isn’t an option; it’s survival. Every watt, gram and millisecond matters. That relentless pursuit of aerodynamic perfection gave me an appreciation for what can be achieved when complex systems are measured, modelled and optimised.
It struck me that the same digital tools and analytical rigour could transform the way buildings and retail spaces use energy. Stores, like race cars, rely on the carefully controlled movement of air – yet much of that air is not being managed effectively. Warm and cool air mix unnecessarily, conditioned spaces leak energy at entrances, and refrigeration systems often battle against the heating system operating just a few metres away.
At Wirth Research, we’ve taken proven technology from Formula One and redeployed it where it can make the greatest difference: in high-footfall retail environments where both energy and comfort are critical. Using advanced CFD, we model the invisible flow of air and heat within stores, identifying precisely where inefficiencies occur and how to eliminate them.
A new direction for engineering
The inspiration to pivot from racing to sustainability came, unexpectedly, through NASA. Years ago, while advising on lightweight design for one of their Mars Landers, I came across emerging data showing the accelerating rise in Earth’s atmospheric carbon. It was a pivotal moment. I realised that the same fundamental science behind high-performance aerodynamics could help reduce the world’s energy waste.
That catalyst set Wirth Research on a new trajectory – from motorsport engineering to clean technology. Today, our mission is to create efficiency through intelligence: using data and design to make energy behave exactly as we need it to.
F1 technology in action
One of our earliest success stories is the EcoBlade – a small but highly effective aerodynamic device that attaches to open fridge shelves. It controls how cold air flows, preventing the spill that normally leaks into the aisle and wastes energy. The results? Energy savings for the retailer, lower carbon emissions, and a more comfortable aisle temperature for shoppers.
Then there’s our AirDoor system, which uses mechatronic engineering and intelligent sensors to create a precise, invisible barrier across store entrances. It dramatically reduces the loss of heated or cooled air as customers come and go. That means more stable indoor temperatures and energy savings that can reach tens of thousands of pounds per site each year. Putting that into context, it’s estimated UK stores lose over £1 billion every year through uncontrolled door drafts and temperature leaks.
These aren’t hypothetical solutions – they’re proven technologies already in use by leading UK retailers including Waitrose and Sainsbury’s. Each innovation demonstrates that improved sustainability and improved customer experience go hand in hand.
Seeing energy differently
Our next step takes energy management to a new level. We’re launching a platform that allows retailers to see energy in motion – revealing airflow, temperature gradients and thermal losses as they happen. It’s a digital twin for the store environment, pinpointing where energy can be captured, redirected and reused.
This technology uses the same type of thermodynamic analysis tools we first developed for Formula One race cars, adapted to the complexities of a full retail space. It allows engineers and facilities teams to make decisions based on evidence rather than estimation – where heat is lost, where cooling is over-delivered, and where balance can be restored.
Field pilots have shown what’s possible. In some sites, integrated airflow control and heat recovery reduced energy consumption by up to 80%, and gas usage by as much as 90%. These aren’t marginal gains; they represent genuine transformation.
Collaboration is key
The important point is that this isn’t about telling retailers to reinvent themselves. It’s about giving them the tools and insights to make their existing operations work smarter. Retailers already lead the way in logistics, automation and consumer engagement. Engineering-led efficiency is the next logical area to focus that same innovative spirit.
We know energy management has to work seamlessly across business priorities – from controlling costs to maintaining comfort and compliance. That’s why our approach is data-first and solution-focused, designed to complement what facilities teams, property managers and sustainability professionals are already doing.
Engineering the route to net zero
In Formula One, success is about precision – measuring everything, learning continuously and improving small details that, together, create major results. The same philosophy applies here. A combination of CFD analysis, smart sensing and design thinking allows retailers to understand what’s happening in their stores at a microscopic level and take targeted action that delivers measurable returns.
There’s no single route to net zero, but one principle holds across every sector: you can’t manage what you can’t see. By visualising energy use, capturing waste and designing airflow intelligently, retailers can turn sustainability from an abstract goal into a competitive advantage.
The race to net zero won’t be won by speed alone – it will be won by precision, collaboration and smart engineering. Formula One taught us to harness data to eliminate waste and push performance further than we thought possible. The UK’s retailers now have the opportunity to do the same – putting themselves firmly in pole position for the next generation of efficiency.
For more information about Wirth Research, visit www.wirthresearch.co.uk.
