15 December 2009
Energy Saving Tips for Commercial Cooking Equipment
Posted by Crystal under: Equipment Maintenance & Tips; Recession Tips & Tricks .
A restaurant is an energy intensive business. There are many elements that affect the energy bill, such as heating, cooling and lighting, cooking equipment and its use. We have compiled some energy saving tips on how to efficiently use your commercial kitchen equipment: ovens, stoves, cook tops, fryers and broilers. While some tips might require a considerable investment, other tips deal with how efficiently you use and maintain your commercial kitchen equipment:
Keep It Clean. To increase commercial fryer’s efficiency keep the oil clean. Clean your heating element frequently. Drain oil daily from the fryer and process it through a fryer filter. If this is not done, loose burnt debris will settle and form sediment, which will negatively alter food quality and cause product taste transfer occur. Built up debris make the heating element work harder to heat up the oil, resulting in extra energy expenditure. You will also maximize costly oil usage by cleaning oil on a daily basis. Removing mineral deposits from your broiler will make it more efficient.
Cut Idle Time. Turn off your equipment, such as stove top, fryer or broiler, when you don’t need them on. Leaving the equipment on standby costs you money. Cut idle time completely in your kitchen.
Preheating and Overheating. Minimize preheat times. Preheating for longer periods of times than indicated on manufacturer’s preheating instructions not only alters the taste of your food and can lead to food waste due to excessive cooking temperatures, it will increase your energy costs. It’s a wrong assumption that higher preheat temperature decreases your preheat time. Preheating for longer periods of times or using a higher preheat temperature will overheat fryer or broiler and cause wasted energy. Minimize those preheat times, which can waste energy. Don’t raise temperature to increase production as you will only waste energy and negatively affect food quality. Another option is to use infra-red broilers that require not preheat times.
Use the Right Sized Pans. In a commercial setting, it is important to use the right, commercial size of pots and pans on the stove top to maximize energy use. Pots and pans should be larger in diameter by at least on inch than the burner they are resting on. When you have the pot or pan of the right size to fit your commercial stove burner, more burner’s heat will be absorbed by cookware, resulting in more efficient energy use. Utilizing the best commercial cookware, such as STOCK POT, 24 QT, SAUCE PAN, 8.5 QT and PASTA COOKER SET, 20 QT. will actually lower your energy bill. Such simple tip as keeping a lid on your pot or a pan will also achieve faster cooking times and, thus, save energy.
Maintenance. Stay on top of repairs: have all your burners, burner adjustments, stove tops and electrical/gas connections serviced regularly. Check for faulty burners: a burner should have a clear flame with a distinctive inner core. Make sure openings and air shutters are clear. Do occasional thermostat checks and check the control systems. Keep your equipment clean: regularly clean the burners, empty the grease pan, wash drip shields, and scrape the grid. Make sure there are no accumulated foods spills; they can cause corrosion, uneven cooking, and extra fuel consumption. Cleaning oil in the fryer regularly gets rid of debris to make your equipment maintenance easier.
Gas vs. Electric. While the energy cost of using a gas appliance is lower than the energy cost of using an electric one, don’t forget to factor in the cost of gas. Both electric and gas appliances have their respective advantages: the electric fryers do not heat up as fast as gas fryers, while gas fryers boast shorter preheat time. However, gas fryers allow more heat to escape, which makes for a hotter kitchen. A typical electric fryer does not let the heat escape, allowing your kitchen to remain cooler and save on air conditioning system. As a general rule, it makes sense to choose a commercial fryer with the best insulation combined with the lowest energy rating.
Following the above energy saving tips not only reduces your total energy bill, it creates a better, consistent food quality and reduces food spoilage. It’s important to make energy efficiency a company policy so that all employees know how to take care of equipment in the best possible manner.
Image provided byFree Foto.
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