energy use more effectively. Glynn is a beacon of good practice when it comes to the energy efficiency of his kitchen as well as the quality of the food he serves to diners. His business has already realised the benefit of energy savings so he makes a very good case for what is possible.”
While many of the chefs and restaurants polled took simple steps such as turning off lights and encouraging staff to take part in energy efficient behaviour, only around a third have installed energy efficient lightbulbs and just a quarter had insulated dining areas, managed their air conditioning better or regularly maintained refrigerators.
Refrigeration alone accounts for an estimated 20% of energy costs and regular maintenance or switching to newer fridges could save 20% on that energy consumption. Lighting too can account for up to 25% of restaurant energy costs, making it an obvious place to look for efficiencies.
Glynn Purnell’s Top 10 Energy Saving Tips
1. When investing in new equipment, don’t just think of the upfront cost, think in terms of the lifespan of a use including factors such as preheat energy consumption, idle energy rate usage, production capacity, operating hours and maintenance and disposal costs.
I have to admit when setting up the restaurant we had a million things to think about and energy efficiency wasn’t one of them. When you look back you realise how much money you could have saved if you had put in these measures at the start. I opened my first restaurant 12 or 13 years ago but if I were to open another I’d make sure energy efficiency was one of the top priorities.
2. Retrofit old equipment with high efficiency parts and accessories. Consider installing control technology, which automatically switches off or turns down unused cooking equipment. Automatic pan sensors are available for gas and electric hobs, which turn the hob off or down. Install a door closer on refrigerators, hang strip curtains on coolers to maintain moisture levels or use programmable thermostats to automatically adjust ventilation and air conditioning.
3. Consult an energy consultant or a commercial kitchen designer and installation team.
4. Locating refrigerators and freezers away from the hot kitchen will work far more efficiently and use less energy, and it will reduce unwanted heat gain in the kitchen. Install door closers or alarms to prevent employees from accidentally leaving fridge/freezer doors open. At Purnell’s, we also use a refrigerator that was made for tropical climates and so is adapted to allow as little temperature change as possible.
5. Use energy efficient lightbulbs or LEDs. We changed all our lights in Purnell’s from gallery lighting to LEDs which made a massive difference to our bills and even improved the ambience of the restaurant (contrary to popular belief!)
6. Don’t keep frozen foods at temperatures colder than needed - increase the temperature of frozen food and product stores from -25°C to -20°C and save 10% of the refrigeration energy6.
7. An induction hob is up to 50% more efficient than a traditional electric hob7 and can power up quickly, reducing the need for them to be on all the time. They generate less heat which means less cooling in the cooking areas is needed. Consider switching from gas permanently and make the change to induction when you do. They are also easier to clean, which can save extra money and time!
8. A combi oven, which offers convection, steam and combination cooking, can reduce energy costs by around 50%8 because they offer faster cooking times.
9. Pass-through dishwashers are the energy-hogging workhorses of many professional kitchens but the new generation has lots of energy-saving features. Choose a dishwasher model with a heat recovery condenser device to reuse waste hot water to heat the incoming supply of water.
10. New grill designs can detect something placed underneath them and heat up in seconds. Good designs will respond in less than ten seconds, offering energy savings of 75%9.
