10 Tips for Restaurants on Saving Money, Energy & the Earth

Are you investing your energy resources wisely? The following tips provide ideas for maintaining an energy efficient operation.

Track energy consumption

Tracking your monthly electricity, water, sewer, trash and natural gas consumption is a first step toward managing your impact and monitoring the effectiveness of efficiency improvements. If you’re an independent operator or local chain, get audits from local utilities and municipalities. Many organizations provide free energy, water and waste audits in addition to advice, technical and sometimes financial assistance for upgrades and program development. Take advantage of these free professional services.

Allow for air circulation around refrigerators and freezers

Refrigerators remove heat from inside the box and eject that heat through the coils on the top or bottom of the unit. When you are cleaning around these units, do not push your reach-ins into tight spaces where the heat will build up, forcing the unit to work harder and use more energy.

Defrost food regularly

Develop a frozen food pull schedule to avoid the practice of defrosting food under running hot water. If a two-gallon-per-minute faucet is used forthis purpose one hour every day for a year, the cost may exceed $800. Read the rest of this entry »

LEED Green Building Certification

Green Building Certification – LEED

Green design in buildings has increased rapidly in the last few years due to the increase in energy costs. To help centralize the green building criteria, the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) developed core principles for residential and commercial buildings that are designed to lower operating costs, reduce waste, reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions, and conserve energy.  The USGBC developed LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), a rating system that serves as a third-party certification program. The numeric -point driven program evaluates a building’s total environmental performance. The number of points earned for a project determines the LEED certification level of the building. Buildings, not individual products, attain LEED certification based on the number of credits earned

U.S. Cooler offers several products to assist our customers in meeting the requirements for LEED certification. Read the rest of this entry »

Operating Cost for Walk-in Coolers and Freezers

Before purchasing your walk-in, you may be wondering how much it will cost to operate your walk-in.

To give you a rough estimate of how much it cost to operate a walk-in cooler or freezer, using the national average of 11.89 cents per kilowatt, look at the chart below.

*These numbers were figured using the $.0999 kilowatt hour cost. According to the Energy Information Administration this is the average cost in the United States for commercial electricity.

This chart was created using several assumptions that can affect your actual operating cost.

1. The type of insulation in the walk-in.
2. Efficiency of the refrigeration system.
3. Inside and outside temperature of walk-in.
4. Where the walk-in is located.
5. The temperature and the weight of the product entering the walk-in.
6. How often the door is opened.
7. The age of the walk-in.
8. Cost of electricity.

This is just to name a few.  If you would like to be more accurate using your electric rate, follow the instructions below. Read the rest of this entry »

Plan Now for Upcoming Changes in Refrigerants

Be aware that prices of R-22 refrigeration may increase while supplies will likely wane. After January 1, 2010, original equipment manufacturers will no longer be able to sell equipment using R-22. The phase out of R-22 will be a lengthy process and market conditions may not be as greatly affected by the volatility that resulted in refrigerant price hikes characterized by the phase out of R-12.

Existing equipment using R-22 can continue to be serviced with R-22. However, chemical manufactures will no longer be able to produce R-22 after January 1, 2020. After 2020 the servicing of existing equipment will rely exclusively on re-claimed and recycled supplies of R-22.

If your equipment is more than ten years old, you may save significantly on your cooling energy cost by replacing it with a new more efficient model using R-404a or Scroll compressor technology.

Energy efficiency, system performance, hourly run time of equipment, reliability, and actual cost to operate (amp draw, run time, etc.) should be considered when deciding to purchase new equipment.

To help speed the transition away from ozone depleting refrigerants, choose a system that uses ozone friendly refrigerants.

U.S. Cooler Saves Customers Money with Energy Efficient Walk-ins

Most walk-in coolers and freezers are purchased based upon the initial cost. What many fail to realize is that operational costs can dig deep into consumers’ pockets. U.S. Cooler is giving the Cold Storage Industry an energy efficient option by manufacturing walk-ins with extruded polystyrene insulation.

Extruded polystyrene is the most efficient insulation available on the market. Over time, extruded polystyrene resists moisture while other insulations start absorbing it. One must consider a real life application to understand moisture absorption.

Freezers normally operate at -10° F inside, but may have an exterior temperature of up to 95° F or even more. With the extreme difference in temperatures, the insulation is vulnerable to retaining moisture in the structural voids. When water starts collecting inside walk-in insulation, the R-value drops and moisture inside the insulation starts to freeze.

When moisture is absorbed and R-values start to decrease, refrigeration systems start working harder and longer to make up for the heat transferring into the walk-in. A refrigeration system working overtime means higher energy bills. By using extruded polystyrene, consumers can save that money.

Extruded polystyrene is unique; the insulation is a closed-cell product, meaning the cells of the material are so tightly packed together that moisture has a difficult time penetrating, which is optimal for moisture resistance and keeps the R-value from decreasing.

Using studies performed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CREEL), U.S. Cooler demonstrated extruded polystyrene saved consumers over $5,000 in energy costs over the first five years of operation. The savings again are due to extruded polystyrene’s ability to resist moisture and to retain its R-value better than other insulators.

When buying and selling walk-ins, consider more than the initial cost of the walk-in-consider energy costs. Educate yourself about how to save money; to find out more about extruded polystyrene and energy savings, call 800.521.2665 or visit www.uscooler.com.

Energy (and money) Saving Tips for Your Walk-in

Tips for Saving on Energy Costs

Here are some ways to help you save energy costs on your walk-in cooler or freezer.

• Properly seal all penetrations in walk-in.
• Replace worn or damaged door seals.
• Install refrigeration away from doors.
• Keep condenser coils clean.
• Do not prop door open for an extended period of time.
• Add strip curtains or air curtains to your walk-in for extra protection from air infiltration when door is open.
• Make sure the lights are off when exiting the walk-in. Lights produce heat, which will cause your unit to run more to hold its optimal temperature.
• Periodically, check gaskets between panels to make sure they are not cracked or weathered. If so, check with your local health codes for the correct procedure to follow as far as repair and replacement.
• Make sure there is nothing stacked around the coil to restrict airflow.
• Make sure fan motors are balanced and running at optimum speed. Clean fan blades to reduce drag.
• Use an evaporator with an EC Motor.
• Utilize Smart Defrost Kits.
• Set defrost frequency at minimum requirements.

Smart Defrost Kit for Walk-in Refrigeration

Make your refrigeration smart and save money by adding a Smart Defrost Kit (SDK) to your walk-in refrigeration system. SDK decreases the amount of defrost cycles in commercial walk-in refrigeration units by 30-40%. Typical electrical defrost refrigeration systems are scheduled to defrost at regular intervals, which is not always the most efficient or safe way. For applications where food safety is critical such as restaurants, convenience stores and grocery stores, the SDK works to protect perishable products as well as enables refrigeration systems to operate more efficiently, ultimately saving you money. All systems are different, which is why SDK takes time to study your system and helps decrease energy costs by keeping the box temperatures consistent. The SDK works by using temperature and pressure sensors to constantly monitor the system.

Click here for more information on Smart Defrost Kits.

Check out their savings calculator that demonstrates how much money you could save by installing a Smart Defrost Kit.