Cost-Saving Energy Solutions for Food Businesses Restaurants, coffee shops and grocery stores serve as hubs of commerce and social activity in many downtown commercial districts and can be a key ingredient for a viable rural community. Many of these businesses have a substantial opportunity to Adjusting the defrost lower overhead costs and increase their profit margins by replacing equipment and cycle of refrigeration reducing energy costs. Making changes like sourcing locally, re-using food waste and considering renewable energy are also possible solutions for long-term sustainability. equipment can result in a significant energy and cost savings. Energy Efficiencies One restaurant owner Intensity with Replacing was able to save $800 annually by of Food and Operating shortening the defrost Businesses Equipment cycle from 70 minutes Food-based businesses are energy-intensive Energy savings can be achieved simply through to 15 minutes. businesses, using large amounts of electricity operation and management changes of and natural gas for cooking, food processing and equipment. Higher upfront costs for upgrading refrigeration. For example, about 24 percent of to more energy efficient equipment can be a energy in restaurants is used for cooking. deterrent for business owners on a tight budget. However, federal, state and utility incentives Virtually every aspect of running a food-based can often offset or exceed the up-front cost of business is affected by energy and energy prices. high-efficiency equipment. In addition to cost, They face high energy costs due to electricity reliability is a key requirement in both restaurants and gas demand from griddles, fryers, steam and grocery stores. Energy efficient equipment cookers, hot food holding cabinets, is generally comparable and often superior in ovens, refrigerators and freezers, quality to standard equipment. dishwashers, ice machines and commercial ovens. Many Iowa utilities offer incentives ranging from Operating costs for $25 to $2,000 or more for convection ovens, heating, ventilation, fryers, hot food holding cabinets, ice machines, air conditioning refrigeration, steam cookers, conveyor ovens, (HVAC), hot water ventilation and other high-efficiency equipment and lighting are purchased by businesses. also a substantial percentage of energy Refrigeration expenses, and To improve the energy efficiency of existing the price of refrigerators: transportation fuels affects the • Make sure that reach-in refrigerators and cost of deliveries freezers are placed away from the wall. and waste Space between the wall and the coils is removal. needed to prevent heat buildup near the coils which will help prevent the unit from working harder and using more energy. • Minimize defrost frequency and length. Most • Replace inefficient tubular fluorescents for food-based business need to defrost no substantial savings. T-12 fluorescent lighting more than 15 minutes, four times daily. and magnetic ballasts should be replaced Cook with the with T-8 or T-5 lamps with an electronic • Replace strip curtains. Strip curtains alone oven fully loaded can reduce outside air infiltration by 75 ballast for greater efficiency. percent. • Replace conventional exit signs with LED whenever possible • Periodically clean the condenser and signs. A typical exit sign with two 20-watt and select an evaporative coils on refrigerators and incandescent bulbs can cost substantially energy efficient freezers. Dust often builds up on the coils, more to operate than the electricity required blocks air flow across the coils, and reduces by an LED exit sign. Incandescent bulbs model to save up refrigeration efficiency. have to be replaced, on average, almost to 50 percent on two times per year. operating costs. Oven and Heating, Griddle Ventilation and Many food-based businesses regularly use griddles and ovens to cook. To reduce energy Air Conditioning costs: (HVAC) • Reduce idle time. Cutting idle time by three hours per day can reduce operating costs Energy costs for heating, ventilating and cooling by $250 annually. food-based businesses can be a substantial • Cook with the oven fully loaded whenever opportunity to reduce costs and increase profit possible and select an energy efficient margins: model to save up to 50 percent on • Most ventilation controls use a manual operating costs. on/off switch that operates the fans at either 100% speed or not at all. These Commercial inefficient ventilation controls can be replaced with demand ventilation controls Dishwashers that automatically vary fan speed based on cooking load and/or time of day. These Dishwashers are expensive to operate due to systems provide only the amount of their energy and water requirements. To reduce ventilation needed at any given time and can operating costs: cut energy costs in half. • Run fully loaded dish racks. Running full • Clean and maintain equipment. Dirty air racks and reducing the number of wash filters and heat transfer coils can reduce the cycles can save hundreds of dollars efficiency of HVAC equipment. annually. • Install energy efficiency controls. • Check rinse pressure. If the pressure gauge Programmable thermostats and energy is showing more than 25 psi, the machine is management systems can substantially probably using more water than necessary. reduce energy costs. Most dishwashers require only 20 psi. • Use circulation fans as an alternative to air • Use conveyor-style dishwashers in auto conditioning. Use of efficient circulation fans mode. Doing so saves electricity by running can allow food-based businesses to reduce the conveyor motor only when needed. energy costs by four to five percent for Lighting every degree the thermostat is set back. • Replace old heating and cooling equipment Lighting can be replaced with more efficient with properly sized high-efficiency lamps. Examples of replacements: equipment. • Change incandescent lights to compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). CFLs give off less heat than incandescent lighting, reducing the amount of energy required by box coolers and air conditioning equipment. found that, on average, produce traveled 1,514 Reducing miles to reach major Midwest terminal markets. Demand Charge As produce is sourced from increasingly distant places, the energy needed to produce and deliver Outfitting an entire Food-based businesses often operate in peak crops to a consumer increases. This is especially commercial kitchen hours of electricity demand. By reducing energy true for perishable products which require fast with a suite of usage during peak periods, a business can transport and more frequent deliveries. reduce the monthly demand charges from some ENERGY STAR utilities. However, issues surrounding energy use in qualified equipment food production are more complicated than the • Schedule the ice maker to operate during analysis done in the food miles study alone. For could save around off-peak hours. example, food miles do not take into account the 300 million BTUs of • Use energy management devices to control actual production methods used to produce an the operation of equipment such as water individual perishable product. The price of locally- energy and about heaters, air conditioners, electric space sourced foods is not necessarily cheaper, but $3,600 per year. heating units and refrigerating equipment. in the future the local food prices may be more Interruption of equipment operation for 10 stable if fuel prices spike dramatically. There to 30 minutes can help flatten the energy are other reasons to procure local foods. There demand of the food-based business is evidence that consumers are willing to pay when the utility grid is overloaded or when more for locally sourced produce for a number electricity prices are high, resulting in lower of reasons: energy costs. • Real or perceived environmental benefits • Use high efficiency motors in food • Freshness preparation equipment (e.g. mixers, slicers, and grinders). • Flavor — many heirloom varieties are only available locally because of transportation (See Resources for Commercial Kitchens and and spoilage issues Restaurants at the end of this publication for more information and references.) For these and other reasons, local food does present opportunities to increase the value of fresh produce. This has drawn attention from Procurement many retailers who are looking to differentiate themselves by offering an option that has an and Waste increasing consumer market. Management Additionally, while the energy intensiveness of local produce can vary depending on production When thinking about energy efficiency, how a practices, there are opportunities to reduce business sources its food products and how they spoilage through quicker and more frequent handle their garbage may not be the first things delivery. Losses due to spoilage or shrinkage that comes to mind. However, it’s important to can often equal the net profit of the average remember that it took energy to grow, make supermarket store. Local foods have the natural and deliver everything that is served or sold, advantage of geography. Because moving and it takes energy to haul the waste away to perishable items to market with minimal handling the landfill or recycling center. By implementing and transport allows for the possibility of less procurement and waste management strategies, spoilage, they often prove to have a significant a business can be “greener” by reducing their advantage. overall energy demand while potentially saving money or gaining valuable marketing