Energy Efficient Cooking

Environmental responsibility and energy conservation are two of the hottest topics in foodservice today. It is estimated that commercial foodservice spends $10 billion dollars a year on energy and 80% of it is wasted as a result of inefficient commercial kitchen equipment.

Today, more and more foodservice operators realize and understand that reducing energy use and improving the environment is good business. Energy conservation is smart in more ways than one. It not only benefits the environment, but also has a positive bottom-line impact as well. A recent study by the US Environmental Protection Agency program, ENERGY STAR®, showed that operators could increase profits by as much as one-third if they saved 20 percent on energy costs

In the case of new equipment, it pays to look beyond the price tag. Most commercial kitchen equipment lasts for 10 to 15 years. Operators should make an energy-smart purchase and are encouraged to think in terms of life-cycle costs, which include purchase price, annual energy costs, and other long-term costs associated with the equipment. Thinking in the long term can really pay off.

Take a new boiler-free connectionless steamer, for example; the water and energy savings over a conventional boiler-based steamer could add up to several thousand dollars in just one year! Multiply those annual savings by the entire life of the appliance, and the financial benefits of energy efficiency become truly striking.

Many of today’s commercial steamers are built with efficiency in mind; some of which have an energy efficiency rating of over 70 %. When it’s time to replace a commercial steamer, the cost difference between an energy efficient model and a standard model may be slightly different but, over time, will be offset by the energy savings that are realized over the life cycle of that new piece of equipment. It pays to look beyond the price tag!