Running a restaurant can be a rewarding experience, but it can be a costly one too. A large portion of the budget for many restaurants goes toward utilities. That’s why restaurant owners need to consider opportunities to optimize the energy in their restaurants.

Here are four ways you can get started with energy optimization in your restaurant today:

1. Switch to energy efficiency lighting

A quick and easy way to lower your energy consumption rates is to switch from incandescent lighting to fluorescents or LEDs. Incandescent lights are cheap but require a lot of electricity to run. They also produce a lot of heat, which can make your HVAC have to work harder.

LED and fluorescent lights consume much less energy and give off very little heat. Switching to either of these can save you a lot in the long run.

2. Cool off the kitchen

If your stoves, ovens and other heat sources are not venting properly, you’re putting too much heat in the kitchen. This additional heat forces your HVAC and refrigeration systems to work harder than necessary, which drives up energy consumption rates and wears down these systems.

Make sure to install and regularly clean and maintain condensation hoods over your heat sources to vent steam and hot air out of the kitchen.

3. Not using it? Turn it off

This may sound like a simple concept, and it is, but it’s amazing how much money restaurants waste every year on idle equipment or lighting. You and your team should identify what consumes energy in your restaurant and how often these systems should be operating.

For example, you could install automatic lights in the restrooms instead of leaving the lights on all day. Or, you could turn off equipment in the kitchen when not in use. You should also invest in automated control systems for your building. This gives you better control over the energy consumption of your refrigeration, HVAC, lighting and more.

4. Update your layout

Equipment like refrigerators or ice cream machines produce cold temperatures by transferring heat from the air in their containers. If this kind of equipment is located near heat sources, like ovens or stoves, they have to work harder to convert the air inside to cool air.

You need to optimize the layout of your kitchen and keep refrigeration sources away from heat sources. Be aware that the refrigeration sources also put off heat, so you may want to keep them apart from each other or make sure they’re properly venting.

Contact Energy Optimization to lower your restaurant’s energy consumption rate

Is your restaurant consuming more energy than you would like? There may be more opportunities for energy optimization than you realize. Contact us today to talk to one of our team members about our energy optimization solutions for restaurants.