Reducing Your Energy Footprint & Increasing Your Bottom Line!

Each year, the foodservice industry spends a tremendous amount for energy and energy related costs. Electricity accounts for half of all energy usage, natural gas for just under half of all usage in foodservice buildings.  Only a small amount of fuel oil and district heat are used; together they account for only 3% of all energy use in foodservice buildings. The total energy consumption for foodservice buildings accounts for up to 6% of total primary consumption for all commercial buildings! Energy use is distributed among a number of different uses in foodservice buildings.  Cooking accounts for the most use, followed by lighting, refrigeration and heating. 

 

Some efficiency measures can be implemented with little or no investment; however, others are often overlooked. For those improvements requiring a larger initial outlay, it is important to look for a short term ROI. Many improvements can even enhance the ambience, appearance, and comfort of a facility.

 

There are two strategies operators of  foodservices should explore immediately:

 

1.     Active Energy Management-
Businesses need intelligent energy planning, plan flexibility and the expert guidance of experienced professionals who can shift course quickly with the market.  Licensed energy consultants can provide these supply side services at no cost to you for eligible natural gas and electricity. Foodservice buildings should review their electricity and natural gas programs on an annual basis to achieve a savings of up to 20% vs. local utilities year over year. This is available where deregulation of energy has been approved.

 

Through energy efficiency engineering services, businesses can use proven strategies to analyze their energy footprint and create an energy reduction plan for their energy usage.  Preliminary energy audits are the first step to determine inefficient processes as well as redundant measures. These audits have uncovered potential energy reductions of up to 40%!  Furthermore, companies may qualify for up to a 50% rebate from a state and/or local utility, as well as federal tax credits and a 2-3 year ROI.

  

There are many other strategies that can be implemented to save and conserve energy. These include changes to lighting, energy efficiency and heating systems to name a few. I will be covering these ideas and many others in future blogs. Proper facility management is paramount to creating substantial savings and reducing your energy footprint. Not only will these measures produce long term savings, but they will add to your bottom line!

 

What are you currently doing to reduce your energy footprint? What would a 20% savings in direct energy costs and up to a 40% reduction in energy usage do for your facility? 

 

Shockingly, many foodservice facilities do not have any programs in place to minimize their energy footprint.