General

UK Carbon Trust guide for the food industry

Some of these items you can check yourself, but most will need your service technician. Seek professional advice.

• If your condensors and evaporators are clogged the compressor needs to work harder and consumes more energy. Clean the grill of dust etc. so they can do their job well. Pressurised air or a vacumn cleaner can do the job well, be careful if using a hose around electrical equipment.
• Ensure your fridge door seals are sealing the cold air inside. If you can slide a piece of paper between the door seal it's leaking air.
• Install a plastic strip curtain on walk-in freezers and fridges to keep the cool air inside.
• Ensure the cold pipes are well insulated. This is very cheap and easy to do.
• Seal up any gaps in the fridge or freezer enclosure. Joins and edges of wall panels can sometimes work apart.
• Insulate the enclosure further if possible.
• Know where your sight glass is and check it every couple of months. If the level is low have the gas topped up to reduce the load on the compressor.
• Repair any leaks if you are loosing refrigerant gas. Refrigerants are an especially dangerous greenhouse gas so plug those leaks. If leaks persist you may need to replace the condensor or evaporator.
• Three phase motor optimisation with PowerBoss Integra. More information on PowerBoss can reduce electricity use and extend the life of your equipment. The compressor will also run cooler, quieter and make less vibration.
• By updating the refrigerant gas you can reduce the risk of damage to the atmosphere and your equipment may run more efficiently. Ask your maintenance engineer about this option.
• Place refrigerators and refrigeration systems in well ventilated areas; sunlight and hot areas such as windows, ovens and bain-maries increase the cooling load on refrigerators. Locate the heat outlet of any refrigerators away from air-conditioning thermostats to prevent unnecessary airconditioning.

Kitchen Appliances

From a greenhouse point of view there are some items that are better changed over immediately, others you would update to more energy efficient models when the opportunity arises and some you would keep repairing until they literally fall apart. When purchasing replacement equipment look for the most energy efficent option available, the extra money spent up front will be saved many times over in running costs.

Change over immediately:
Electric storage hot water. Change to solar with gas boost / heat pump / gas instantaineous / gas storage. Basically anything is better than electric hot water storage. If you have an on-the-wall electric hot water service fit a seven day timer to switch it off when not in use and insulate it if you can.

Change to gas sooner rather than later:
Electric appliances that are very energy intensive or on for a long period of time such as an electric combi-oven, electric deep fryer, rotisiary, steam ovens, food warmers.

Work to the death
Hobart mixers. They are heavy (lots of embodied energy) and take a lot of energy to replace.

Ovens
Gas is more planet friendly than electricity, and responds faster.
Oven gaskets should seal oven doors effectively, use a piece of paper to check the gap. Often adjusting the hinges fixes a gap.


Note: Changing from electric to gas is recommended in Australia due to the high greenhouse intensity of our electric grid. This strategy may not be as effective, or may even be counterproductive, in countries such as New Zealand with a high proportion of renewable energy in their grid.

Other

Low-flow water nozzles will reduce hot water usage and energy.

Cafe guide from Queensland Government

Restaurant guide to energy efficiency products (from the USA)