Boosting Restaurant Profits With Energy Efficiency

Sanitation and Water Use: Save Water to Save Energy

For restaurants, saving water-especially hot water-makes great economic sense. By conserving hot water you trim not one but two bills: one for the water, and another for the electricity or natural gas used to heat it.

Don't ignore leaks. A leaky faucet or dish machine, or a stuck solenoid valve, that loses one-tenth of a gallon per minute will waste more than 50,000 gallons over the course of a year. If that same leak just happened to be hot water-you'd be spending hundreds of dollars heating water only to send it right down the drain!

Check your water temperature. Use a thermometer to make sure your water heater isn't working any harder than it has to; hot water should be around 140 degrees at the faucet of the pot sink closest to the dish machine.

Add aerators. Hand-sink faucets can use as much as 10 gallons of water per minute when not equipped with efficient water aerators. Outfit the hand sinks in your kitchen and bathrooms with low-flow aerators-you'll cut water use and ultimately save on water-heating costs.

Add insulation. Heating water is a significant expense for most restaurants. Fortunately, it's relatively easy to reduce that expense by adding insulation to your hot-water system. Start saving by simply wrapping your hot-water pipes with the insulated covers available at most hardware stores.

Activate the automatic flue damper. Many commercial water heaters have an automatic flue damper that closes when the burners are off. This damper saves energy by blocking heat from escaping up the flue. Make sure that the damper motor's switch is in the "on" position so that the damper will operate properly.

Control the recirculation pump. If your hot water system includes a recirculation pump, install a timer that turns the pump off when your kitchen is closed. You'll reduce the heat loss from your hot water pipes, potentially saving hundreds of dollars on energy costs.

Switch to low-flow pre-rinse spray valves. Depending on the size and workload of your restaurant, a low-flow spray valve could save you more than $1,000 annually. The secret to the low-flow valve's success is its ability to save in three ways at once. By lowering your water consumption, the sprayer simultaneously slashes your water, wastewater-disposal and energy bills. And don't worry, low-flow doesn't mean slow-low-flow spray valves are engineered to work as well as or better than standard valves. As of January 2006, any new pre-rinse spray valves that you purchase are required by law to be low-flow models; however, thousands of old sprayers are still out there wasting water and energy. You may be able to replace your old valves for free by taking advantage of a give-away program through your local utility or water district.

Case in point: Merkl’s Deli & BBQ, Chula Vista

Merkl's Deli & BBQ in Chula Vista was designed with energy efficiency in mind. Among other features, the deli is outfitted with low-flow spray valves, which perform as well as standard valves but save vast amounts of water and cut water-heating costs. "They work great," reports Steve Wilson, one of the deli's co-owners. "I've actually been able to turn the water pressure down with them."

The California Urban Water Conservation Council (CUWCC) estimates that small and very small restaurants can use low-flow spray valves to cut water-heating energy by around 7,600 kWh annually. In addition to saving hundreds of dollars on electricity costs, conserving 7,600 kWh would prevent nearly 12,000 lbs of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. For more information on spray valves, visit www.cuwcc.org.