In an era where sustainability and energy efficiency are paramount, businesses are increasingly seeking out practical ways of reducing their energy use, operating costs and carbon footprint.
While energy efficiency stands to benefit nearly any modern business, it is particularly valuable to the restaurant and commercial foodservice industry, where businesses utilize a wide range of energy-intensive commercial kitchen equipment, simultaneously and for long periods of operation. With the list of commercial kitchen equipment continually evolving, robust energy-efficiency programs, like ENERGY STAR, can help to simplify this process for businesses while yielding significant energy and cost savings.
Originally started in 1992, ENERGY STAR is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency and provides simple, credible, and unbiased information to consumers and businesses. This little blue label can be found on more than 75 different types of consumer and commercial-facing products that are independently certified to meet the energy-efficiency standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Products that earn the ENERGY STAR label are independently certified to meet strict specifications for energy efficiency set by the EPA. ENERGY STAR develops and regularly updates these specifications with consideration to technology improvements, market trends, annual performance data, and input from manufacturers and a range of stakeholders. This process helps transform the market by increasing the number of energy-efficient products available to consumers and businesses, which in turn helps them save energy, save money and reduce their carbon footprint.
In recent years, the foodservice industry has fully embraced its role in improving its energy footprint and has been diligently working to incorporate energy-efficient technologies. The foodservice sector has seen a gradual shift as more operators recognize the need and benefits of transitioning to more environmentally friendly operations. Concurrently, states, cities, and local governments are implementing plans and initiating mandates to achieve energy and emission-reduction targets for commercial buildings. One of the strategies to achieve decarbonization and energy consumption reduction goals is transitioning to more advanced electric alternatives.
On Aug. 31, 2023, EPA’s ENERGY STAR program finalized and published a new specification for commercial electric cooktops and ranges. High-efficiency commercial electric cooktops will offer commercial kitchens advanced energy savings compared with standard commercial electric cooktops through reduced heat waste, improved thermal efficiency, faster temperature response rate, limited or no idle periods, and greater cooking precision. Further, all ENERGY STAR-certified models must meet or exceed an 80% boil energy-efficiency level. For comparison, standard gas units deliver boil efficiency in the range of 25% to 40%.
ENERGY STAR enables all operators ranging from independent to chain operators — such as Arby’s, Chipotle, Wendy’s and McDonald’s — and noncommercial operators to take advantage of myriad products in the commercial foodservice portfolio that effectively reduce energy consumption and lower operating costs.
By Tanja Crk
Product Manager
Washington, D.C.
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