Next100 - A Dialogue on the Next Century of Energy

Jun 23 2008

Restaurants Look To California Test Kitchen For Energy Savings

It's 11 o'clock in the morning and the kitchen staff is busy baking pizzas, cooking batches of french fries, and warming golden macaroni and cheese. This kitchen in the San Francisco Bay Area suburb of San Ramon, however, won't be rushing platters of food out to the dining room. There is no dining room. The kitchen behind the doors of a nondescript office building tests the energy efficiency and performance of equipment used in commercial kitchens, and business is booming as the restaurant industry scrambles to put a dent in rising energy costs, which run from 3 percent to 8 percent of annual restaurant costs.

This is the 21-year-old Food Service Technology Center, funded by California utility customers and operated under contract to PG&E by Fisher-Nickel Inc. The other utilities in the program are Southern Califiornia Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Southern California Gas Co.

"The interest in green buildings and energy efficiencies is increasing. In the last year we have seen an explosion of interest. The lab is running full out testing appliances and it seems we're on the road every week speaking at industry seminars," Richard Young, a center staffer, told NEXT100. Young handles education and outreach, efficient building technologies, and rapid cook ovens.

The center develops standard testing methods for food service equipment for the American Society of Testing Materials. The center's first test procedures were developed for griddles and broilers and it has expanded to include braising pans, fryers, ovens, pasta cookers, ranges, steam kettles, steamers, and warewashers, among other kitchen gear. It also offers a lot of information about product rebates, Energy Star commercial food equipment, energy tips and much more.

On a tour last week of the 9,000-square foot center, the kitchen was putting a variety of manufacturers' equipment through their paces. A "holding warmer" was undergoing a 3-hour test of mac&cheese for the retail Target chain, while a few feet away a white-coated lab tester was busy slipping baskets of frozen french fries into a deep fryer hooked up to a nearby computer. At another station, a steam cooker was testing with green peas, and a lab attendant nearby was busy sprinkling cheese over pizza dough and sliding the pies into test combination ovens. Also in the lab were a large rack oven and a new self-cleaning rotisserie awaiting tests for the Safeway supermarket chain.

The center was also working with new low-flow pre-rinse spray nozzles for dishwashers, efficient gas-saving water heaters (save up to 300 thems a year), refrigerators, ice machines, lighting systems, and big kitchen exhaust and ventilation hoods. A Melink ventilation control system can save commercial kitchens from about $9,000 to $19,000 in total yearly opertaing costs with a pay-back period of about 1 to 2-1/2 years.

The commercial food industry is moving toward greener settings with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System for design, construction and operation of green buildings. The test lab has been invited by LEED to help them develop the criteria for commercial food services that may be included in new retail construction. The criteria will likely be available by the end of summer.

Posted by: Leonard Anderson | Comments (0) Permalink