Save money in the workplace kitchen

In most small- to medium-sized businesses, the core equipment in the workplace kitchen consists of a kettle (or urn), fridge, freezer and microwave.

Simple energy savings can be made here that will contribute to reducing your bills:

•  If you use an urn or instant hot water unit, use an appliance monitor to measure how much energy it uses. You may find that you’ll save energy and money by switching to a kettle.
• When using a kettle, only boil the amount of water that you’re going to use, rather than a whole kettle full.
• Use plug timers for urns, vending machines, drinks fridges and water-coolers so they are not using power at night and on weekends. When it comes to urns this can save a significant amount of money.
• Switch off microwaves at the plug when not in use.

 

Larger scale kitchens

For small businesses whose core business is the preparation of food, there are significant savings to be made from developing energy efficient habits.

 

Ausgrid has identified 10 easy changes that you can implement straight away:

1. Turn off equipment when it’s not being used.
2. Minimise the opening of oven doors. Every time you open the door you lose 4% of the heat. That can really add up.
3. Reduce heat wastage by preheating ovens only when you need to.
4. When opening the business for the day, leave it till as late as possible to turn on your ovens and other equipment.
5. Don’t over-do your heat settings. Many kitchens keep their equipment on a high setting all day and waste money as a result. This equipment should be run on low settings as much as possible, especially during quieter periods.
6. Use your lids to keep in the heat and don’t overfill your pots with water. Just using the amount needed to cook the food will save you energy.
7. Think small when choosing your equipment. Sometimes an electric fry pan or microwave can cook a dish faster and use less energy than a large conventional oven.
8. Keep your equipment in good working order. Check oven and fridge door seals regularly to prevent heat or cooling losses.
9. Maintain a set of pots and pans with flat bases and correctly-fitting lids to transfer heat effectively and minimise heat loss.
10. Exhaust hoods can be turned off or put on to low during quieter periods.

Longer term, you should think about investing in the following to save even more money: 

• Look out for equipment that is insulated to keep in heat.
• Old energy-guzzling dishwashers should be replaced with newer, energy- efficient models. The savings can be significant.
• When buying commercial ovens, exhaust hoods, commercial dishwashers, refrigerators or other kitchen equipment, choose energy efficient models. You can compare the energy efficiency of different commercial kitchen products at: EnergyCut.info/star-products

More information on energy saving in commercial kitchens

If you run a business with a commercial kitchen, more details about energy-saving equipment examples can be found at the following link: EnergyCut.info/restaurants-and-cafes.