ENERGY MANAGEMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
SUSTAINABILITY WITHOUT SACRIFICES
Faced with soaring food and energy prices and lower footfalls in many workplaces compared to pre-pandemic levels, how can FMs and their catering providers safeguard the quality and flexibility of their foodservice offerings while meeting sustainability goals, asks Julian Shine, MD of Shine Catering Systems.
The latest CGA Prestige Foodservice Price Index reveals that year-on-year inflation in the foodservice sector hit 13.6% in March 2022 and prices are unlikely to fall for the foreseeable future. FMs and their catering providers must find ways to safeguard the quality of their offerings whilst maintaining a sustainably-focussed outlook. Here are some of the ways that can be achieved.
Kitchen designer and installer view Energy efficiency has always been on the agenda of commercial kitchens but a ‘perfect storm’ of factors ensures the need to minimise energy use is greater than it has ever been. Rising costs, increased legislation and more stringent targets on energy use are all having an impact as we transition to lower carbon energy sources in line with the Government’s target of net zero emissions by 2050.
With food prices rising and lower footfalls due to post- pandemic flexibility, energy costs are also becoming more important to drive savings without impacting quality.
Commercial kitchens are inherently large energy users; what proportion of a building’s energy is used in the kitchen will depend on the building use of course, but it is not uncommon for kitchens to use upwards of 50% of the building’s energy consumption. Mitigating this energy use can be the key to maintaining a profitable catering operation whilst also meeting sustainability goals.
Kitchen considerations Savings can undoubtedly be made. Research by the International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies shows between 45% to 70% of the wasted electric energy in commercial kitchens is due to behavioural factors and poor maintenance.
With this in mind, there are some important decisions to be made - namely whether to install electric or gas cooking appliances. Some chefs still prefer to cook on a flame, but when it comes to efficiency benefits, electric induction cooking will always outperform gas due to the level of control available.
Take induction cooking, for example, where 90% of the heat generated is used for cooking, compared with around 70% for electric cooktops and between 40-55% for an open gas burner. Even taking into account the difference in cost per unit (which is becoming smaller), electric cooking is more economical.
A typical gas appliance also requires 1.5 times the volume flow of extraction than the electric equivalent because so
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much heat is wasted, which means a bigger extraction system and higher ongoing running costs.
Energy saving features Another way to keep costs down whilst achieving sustainability is to take advantage of specific energy saving features. This could include technologies such as demand-controlled ventilation and heating of prime cooking appliances, which reduces energy consumption when systems are not in use.
Demand-controlled ventilation is not mentioned in BREEAM but I would expect it to be added in due course because it is referenced in the latest version of the DW172: Specification for Kitchen Ventilation System guidance document from BESA and remains one of the best efficiency measures that can be used.
Other technologies include heat recovery and air source heat pumps on dishwashers, which can reuse waste heat from wastewater and hot humid air to heat incoming cold water. Even correctly sizing equipment such as commercial fridges will have a positive impact on the energy consumption of the kitchen.
The key, in all of this, is for architects, designers and their clients to work in collaboration with their kitchen consultant from the early stages of the project help design and build more efficient kitchens from the outset. By working together, we can develop more sustainable, more cost-effective kitchens that meet all objectives.
www.shine.co.uk twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
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