Enabling Technologies
High Efficiency Commercial Kitchens
The primary goal of this project was to demonstrate and characterize the energy savings potential, cost effectiveness and cooking performance of high-efficiency equipment as compared to baseline equipment at five different commercial food service sites.
After establishing the most energy intensive equipment on the five cooklines and selecting energy-efficient alternatives, baseline equipment was replaced and metered for energy consumption.
Each site experienced thousands of dollars in energy and water savings from appliance replacement and ventilation system optimization. Beyond the monetary savings, efficient appliances had advanced controls allowing fryer operators to see their oil temperatures in real time and set cooking timers. Manual griddles upgraded to thermostatic units maintained more consistent temperature control, improving product quality. Energy-efficient ovens resulted in more uniform cooking and replacement combi ovens allowed restaurants to expand their menu through multi-stage cooking of more complex dishes. Energy-efficient appliances also reduced the heat load in the kitchen making the work space more comfortable for staff. Demand control ventilation reduced heating and cooling costs while significantly reducing the fan noise level in the kitchen.
