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KITCHEN TIPS

Kitchen Equipment and Management
Kitchen equipment can consume large amounts of energy, but there are opportunities to reduce consumption. When new appliances are purchased, we recommend installing efficient ENERGY STAR equipment. ENERGY STAR has lists of approved equipment including fryers, hot food holding cabinets, solid door refrigerators and freezers, steam cookers, and dishwashers. Numerous cost savings calculators are provided at ENERGY STAR to show the impact of investing in efficient equipment. Several efficiency tips for commercial kitchen equipment are available from the Food Service Technology Center. We have summarized relevant information below.

Basically, turning off any idle equipment will reduce your energy costs.

Consider turning off fryers, steamers, griddles, and boilers during slow periods. Fryers are typically idle more than 75% of the time. Turn off sections of the broiler and griddle when they are not being used. For every hour of broiler standby time eliminated each day, you can save up to $100 annually.

Long and unnecessary preheats can cost hundreds of dollars each year. Preheat ovens, heaters, and steamers fifteen minutes before you use them rather than hours in advance. If only one compartment is in use, turn the back-up unit off.

If several refrigerators or freezers are partially filled, place all contents in one unit and turn the other one off. Clean your refrigerator and freezer condenser coils every 3 months.

Run the dishwasher with full loads. A dishwasher uses the same amount of energy whether it’s washing one dish or one hundred.

Install foot pedal valves in kitchen sinks
Install foot-operated taps on kitchen sinks to save water and heating energy, while improving sanitation and reducing food-borne cross-contamination by allowing hands-free faucet operation. The cost of pedal valves ranges from $100 to $500, depending on brand, quality, and design.