Boosting Restaurant Profits With Energy Efficiency
Refrigeration Systems: Ice Machines
Shift ice production. Cut down on your daytime electricity demand by installing a timer and shifting ice production to nighttime off-peak hours. Most restaurants pay less for electricity at night and you'll be turning off a hot, noisy piece of equipment during normal kitchen hours. (See the text box on page 16 for more on "peak" electricity demand and why it's important.)
Shop for efficiency. Ice machine manufacturers voluntarily list the water and energy-use numbers for their ice-cube machines with the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) at www.ari.org. With this list in hand, you can comparison shop for the most efficient ice machine and save yourself hundreds of dollars a year in water and electricity. Many utilities offer rebates for purchasing efficient ice machines, so check with your energy provider or ice machine dealer to see if you qualify.
Purchase with capacity in mind. Bigger ice machines are typically more efficient than smaller ones in the sizes used by most restaurants. For instance, a 520 pound-per-day machine will make ice using as little as half the energy needed by a smaller 200 pound-per-day machine. The best part is that the bigger 520-pound machine does not cost twice as much as the 200-pound unit. So, choose wisely and you could get twice the ice capacity at half the energy cost per pound of ice. The larger machine also makes it easier to shift all of your ice making to nighttime hours.
The importance of peak power
Becoming more energy efficient is good business-for you and for the state as a whole. By consuming less electricity, you'll be helping to stabilize California's power grid during peak hours, which refers to the time of day-roughly between noon and 7:00 p.m.-when electricity demand is highest. If you're on a time-of-use electricity rate schedule, it's also when electricity is most expensive.
When peak energy supplies are at their lowest, a Flex Alert is triggered. That's your signal to cut back on electricity use wherever possible. Here are some good options for cutting demand during a Flex Alert:
- Turn off all non-essential lighting.
- Adjust air conditioner thermostat to 78o F or higher.
- Shut off unneeded cooking equipment.
- Make sure walk-in doors are shut (not propped open).
For more on Flex Your Power NOW!, peak electricity and time-of-use electricity plans, visit .