New Refrigeration on Used Walk-ins – Is it EISA compliant?

The Department of Energy (DOE) has written their interpretation on compliant refrigeration vs. non-compliant refrigeration on walk-in coolers and freezers. Below, DOE explains that any component added to a previously installed walk-in cooler or freezer and manufactured after January 1, 2009, must meet EISA guidelines. This is a draft document and comments and suggestions must be submitted to the Department of Energy prior to February 20, 2012.

The Interpretation from the Department of Energy (DOE)

This is a draft document and does not represent a definitive view of the agency on the questions addressed.

This and other guidance documents are accessible on the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy web site at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/guidance/default.aspx?pid=2&spid=1.

Guidance Type: Conservation Standards, Enforcement
Category: Commercial Equipment
Product: Walk-in Cooler and Walk-in Freezers
Guidance Version: DRAFT
Issued: January 20, 2012
Comment Period Closes: February 20, 2012

Q: What are the relevant dates for compliance with the prescriptive requirements for walk-in coolers and walk-in freezers? For example: If a newly manufactured component of a walk-in cooler or walk-in freezer is installed in a walk-in box manufactured prior to January 1, 2009, does it have to comply with the prescriptive requirements of 10 C.F.R. § 431.306?

A: The following is a draft U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) guidance document regarding commercial walk-in coolers and walk-in freezers. This draft guidance document represents the Department’s interpretation of its existing regulations and is exempt from the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act. See 5 U.S.C. § 553(b)(A). Therefore, the Department is accepting comments and suggestions from the public until February 20, 2012. Comments and suggestions should be provided in WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, PDF, or text file format by sending an email to WICFEISA2007Guidance-2012-0001{at}ee.doe.gov. Please also include the docket number EERE-2012-BT-STD0001.

At the end of the comment period, this draft guidance document may be adopted, revised or withdrawn. Read the rest of this entry »

DOE Final Test Procedure Ruling Could Affect You

The EISA 2007 document required that performance based standards for walk-in coolers and freezers be published no later than January 1, 2012. The first step to completing the new walk-in cooler and freezer standards is to finalize the testing procedure.  This has now been completed and published. The next step is to publish the standards, which determines the required performance results of the mandatory tests.

The final test procedures for testing walk-in coolers and freezers have been finalized and released. There are test procedures for panels, doors and refrigeration systems.  The tests that have been adopted are designed to produce test results that reflect energy efficiency, energy use and estimated operating costs for industrial equipment.

DOE has finally made a ruling on definitions that were unclear in previous documents. The most important ruling that affects our dealers is who is now considered the manufacturer.

Manufacturer of a walk-in cooler or walk-in freezer means any person who:

1. Manufactures a component of a walk-in cooler or walk-in freezer that affects energy consumption, including, but not limited to, refrigeration, doors, lights, windows, or walls;

Or

1. Manufactures or assembles the complete walk-in cooler or walk-in freezer (76 FR 12504).

This definition extends the compliance responsibility to both the component manufacturer and the assembler. In the final rule, DOE clarified that the component manufacturer would be the entity responsible for certifying compliance of the components they manufacture for walk-in applications. The manufacturer is responsible for the products they manufacture. If a manufacturer puts the entire system together, including the walk-in and refrigeration, the manufacturer is responsible for the equipment to meet federal standards. Read the rest of this entry »

Time is Running out for Foodservice Equipment Tax Incentives

You have eight months left this year to secure important tax perks for purchasing new equipment. If you are thinking of replacing your walk-in cooler or freezer, now may be the time to act. The Small Business Act that President Obama put in place in September 2010 provides tax relief and assistance in gaining access to capital for foodservice operations.

The legislation allows foodservice operators to write off up to $500,000 of equipment costs immediately rather than recovering the purchase over multiple year of depreciation. The equipment purchase must be completed during the 2011 tax year.

Check out our New Equipment Tax Breaks post from November 2010 for more information.

Passing Restaurant Inspections for your Walk-in Cooler or Walk-in Freezer

Restaurants are supposed to be checked by health inspectors twice a year. Walk-ins can be a source of food safety violations if not properly maintained and cleaned. If you run a restaurant you can also be stuck with fines totaling thousands of dollars or face temporary closure of your establishment. After the restaurant is closed, an inspector will generally return within 24 hours and will continue to visit until these violations are resolved and the restaurant can reopen.¹ Lost days of operation can cost your business not only revenue, but your reputation as well.

One restaurant in New York paid a total of $8,600 in fines from a food inspection, including $1,200 directly relating to their poorly maintained walk-in cooler.

· $600 – The walk-in cooler was dripping water from the ceiling. Ice build-up on the condenser was present in the walk-in freezer dripping into extra ice storage in a garbage can below. Shelving in multiple refrigeration units was rusted and therefore not easy to clean and particles of rust able to flake off into food products below. The condensation line for the cooler was not connected and the condensate was dripping into a pan at the bottom of the unit.

· $600 – The floor in the walk-in cooler was in disrepair and no longer an easy to clean surface.²

Health code regulations and requirements vary from state to state. The following are areas you could be cited for in your walk-in or other refrigerators:

Lack of interior release in walk-in.

Spoiled or improperly packaged food in your walk-in.

Any spills or pieces of food in the walk-in not cleaned up.

Mold present in the walk-in cooler.

Refrigeration unit poorly ventilated and in close proximity to combustibles.

Walk-in not held at the proper temperature for food storage.

Improper organization of the walk-in or obstructions in the area around it, making it hard to service or clean. Read the rest of this entry »

What the Food Safety Bill Means for Restaurants

A growing number of food-borne illness outbreaks in recent years have scared consumers about everything from salad greens to peanut butter to eggs and spurred lawmakers into action — eventually. The Senate finally took the issue off the back burner this week, voting to approve a version of a bill passed by the House last year that’s designed to head off outbreaks rather than merely deal with them after the fact.

Food safety is uppermost in the minds of restaurant operators, whose reputations can suffer lasting damage when salmonella and E. coli outbreaks are tied to tainted ingredients they’ve served. The bill would finally give the FDA the power to order food product recalls when contamination is suspected, and would increase the agency’s authority to conduct multiple inspections of processing facilities where conditions might be ripe for food contamination. Read the rest of this entry »

Feds Urged To Include Green Construction Code In New Government Buildings

Citing the gap between existing construction codes and green rating systems has been filled, the International Code Council (ICC) encouraged the U.S. government to reference the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) in an effort to apply sustainable design principals to the design and construction of new federal buildings.

“Prior to this year, voluntary ‘rating’ type programs were among the only options for guiding the design of green buildings,” said Code Council CEO Rick Weiland testifying at a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) public hearing. “Such programs, including LEED, were not designed to act as regulatory language. The gap between existing codes and rating systems has now been filled…. [and] are now available to address federal goals as well as meet the needs of state and local jurisdictions.”

The Code Council also offered specific comments to improve the usefulness and measurability of the proposed rule, Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Design Standards for New Federal Buildings. The IGCC, Weiland said, is a tool available to federal agencies for efficiently and rapidly achieving measurable levels of compliance with FEMP goals.

Industry support signals a consensus of key industry leaders around the necessity of a code to guide green construction, Weiland said. In addition the Code Council, IGCC sponsors are the American Institute of Architects (AIA), ASTM International, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Illuminating Engineering Society. The IGCC has the support of more than two thousand organizations and individuals. Read the rest of this entry »

Food Safety Reform Bill Passes U.S. Senate Panel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. Senate committee voted unanimously on Wednesday to increase government oversight of food safety but the first significant overhaul in 50 years may not happen until 2010.

Pressure to overhaul the food safety system has grown following several high-profile outbreaks involving lettuce, peppers, peanuts and spinach since 2006 that have sickened thousands and killed several.

However, the full Senate probably won’t vote on the bill until 2010 as Congress is currently mired in debate about overhauling the U.S. healthcare system, said Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

“I really, honestly, I just don’t see how we’ll get to it before Christmas,” Harkin said of the food safety bill.

The Senate bill would expand U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight of the food supply and shift its focus toward preventing, rather than reacting, to foodborne outbreaks. FDA would have the power to order recalls, increase inspection rates and require all facilities to have a food safety plan. Read the rest of this entry »

U.S. Department of Energy to Strengthen Efficiency Standards

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced three new steps to strengthen its ability to enforce energy efficiency standards. DOE has formed a new enforcement team within the Office of the General Counsel; established a program to randomly review manufacturers’ compliance with DOE certification requirements; and is publishing guidance that provides further details about DOE’s energy efficiency enforcement regulations.

In its new guidance, DOE confirms that under existing regulations, it can take enforcement action and assess civil penalties if a manufacturer fails to properly certify a covered product and retain records. Specifically, the agency clarifies that any failure to certify covered products according to DOE’s rules violates the Energy Policy Conservation Act of 1975 and DOE regulations. DOE will randomly select previously filed certification reports for review, request certification records as needed, and hold manufacturers accountable for failing to certify covered products according to DOE rules. Read the rest of this entry »

USDA Grant Money for Rural Energy Improvements

Government money is available to help your small business become more energy efficient.

The USDA is now offering a grant and loan program to improve energy efficiency in rural areas. The REAP/RES/EEI (Rural Energy for America Program Grants/ Renewable Energy Systems/ Energy Efficiency Improvement Program) Grants Program will provide funds to architectural producers and rural small businesses to purchase and install renewable energy systems and make energy efficient improvements.

The program is designed to assist farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses that are able to demonstrate financial need. Small businesses that are located in rural areas can also apply. Most rural projects that reduce energy use and result in savings for the agricultural producer or small business are eligible as energy efficient projects. These include projects such as retrofitting lighting or insulation, or purchasing or replacing equipment with more efficient units. One of the main requirements of the grant program is that the new equipment must be more energy efficient than the current equipment. An ‘energy audit’ will be performed comparing the energy usage of the old equipment to the new anticipated energy efficient equipment.

Walk-in coolers and freezers qualify for this grant program. Older walk-ins are not as efficient as new units built today. Some of the recent changes in the industry include the requirement to provide higher insulation r-values and refrigeration units with EC motors, which are much more energy efficient than older units. These upgrades will prove your new equipment to be more energy efficient, which will save you money on energy costs. Read the rest of this entry »

School Food Service Stimulus Package

In addition to the numerous small business grants available, the federal government has delivered a $100 million dollar food service equipment stimulus package targeted directly at public and private schools which participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and qualify (at the building level*) with a 50% or more participation in a free and reduced lunch program.

Funds have been allocated to each state education department. Funds vary by state and range from $215,000 to $12 million. The grants are competitive which means preparation is important. The window of opportunity is very narrow so this is an actionable item. The funds are intended to be dispersed within three months.

Items the schools may wish to consider include the repair, replacement or addition of walk-in coolers and freezers. Some of the reasons these qualify include: improving food safety, reducing operating costs translating into energy savings, increased storage capacity to handle expanded breakfast, lunch and snack programs. The link below contains detailed information regarding all qualifying food service equipment. A general rule of thumb is that the equipment must support the reimbursable meal program and not specifically targeted to an ala carte program.

Here is a link to the National School Nutrition Association website where school food service directors can find the most current USDA issued communication related to this process. There are links to each individual state where the food service director can view the requirements and download the required forms.

School food service directors are welcome to call on U.S. Cooler to assist with specification, sizing etc. Contact information is easily accessed via our interactive territory map.

*Participation is measured at the building level rather than the District Level. If the equipment is for a central kitchen, all buildings served by the central kitchen are listed and included in the calculation.