A
afransen TO
Guest
I thought that this was interesting. It goes to show we have a long way to go in terms of increasing efficiency. It also shows that reducing energy consumption isn't an expensive chore for firms... it's usually a profitable venture.
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Why waste waste heat? TheStar.com - Business - Why waste waste heat?
Technology captures energy from warm restaurant exhaust
Tyler Hamilton
Toronto Star
Take a peek inside the kitchen of any busy restaurant and you'll quickly realize there's a lot of heat being produced, and wasted.
Ovens are constantly on and being opened, grills sizzle with burgers and steaks, pots boil with soups, sauces and pastas, and hot water and steam wash dishes and cutlery. Where does all that heat go? Well, it usually gets sucked up an exhaust stack and released into the air.
Meanwhile, under a separate process, natural gas is typically used to heat up municipal water and, in the winter, the fresh air coming into a restaurant through an intake vent.
"Why buy gas to heat a restaurant when thousands of dollars of that heat is sent up an exhaust stack every month?" says Jeff Martin, president of Martin Air Systems.
The Burlington entrepreneur says there's no reason for such waste – and he's proving it. For the past three years his company has retrofitted a number of restaurants around the GTA with a system that captures otherwise wasted kitchen heat and uses it to pre-heat water and restaurant air.
The result? "Total gas consumption drops 35 to 40 per cent," says Martin, pointing out that about half of all restaurant gas consumption is for food preparation. This means that total costs strictly for building heating and hot water are being reduced by 75 to 80 per cent.
In the summer, when building heat isn't required, all of the waste heat goes toward pre-heating water. "You'd be amazed at how much hot water a restaurant goes through," he says. "We've been able to pre-heat the water to 120 degrees F."
Systems vary in size and cost depending on the restaurant. But energy savings on a $75,000 retrofit, for example, have translated into a payback period ranging from two to three years. If the heat recovery system is built into a new restaurant as it's constructed, the payback time can be as little as one year.
"That's because our unit replaces both the exhaust and makeup air unit they would have to purchase anyway," says Martin.
Such savings have convinced restaurant-chain owner SIR Corp. to wholeheartedly embrace the technology. So far 15 systems have been installed at a number of Jack Astor's, Canyon Creek and Alice Fazooli's restaurants around the city.
Two new Canyon Creeks, one in Scarborough and one in Vaughan, were designed with the system incorporated in to the restaurant's design from the start.
"Both of those restaurants are two of the most energy efficient in Canada," says Corey Dalton, chief operating officer of SIR. "We've committed to the system. We've got two new Jack Astor's under construction, and they will have the system in it as well."
Martin Air's heat-recovery system started as an experiment in 2004. Before then, the company spent most of its time designing and installing air-filtration systems for restaurants, particularly donut shops. Its biggest clients included Tim Hortons and Country Style.
"In the 1980s and 1990s we cornered that market," says Martin.
In 1998, Tim Hortons decided to go completely non-smoking, sparking an exodus of smokers from Tim Hortons to competing chains. Conversely, non-smokers at those chains migrated to Tim Hortons. The result was a mass exchange of customers.
But with smoking legislation on the way, shops like Country Style were forced to install smoking rooms or go non-smoking themselves. This created an opportunity for Martin Air, which between 2001 and 2004 constructed more than 100 smoking rooms for donut shops across Ontario. Smoking rooms were also built for restaurants in the SIR Corp. chain.
That business eventually dried up, however, with an all-out smoking ban in public places.
In 2004, Martin approached Canyon Creek in Burlington and suggested that they take an old exhaust system for its smoking room, move it over the kitchen and convert it into a heat-recovery system.
"We just wanted to test the concept," says Martin.
It was a gamble, Dalton adds. "None of us were sure it was going to work, but we took a shot. Martin took as much risk as we did initially because he put it in for free."
The effort paid off. Over the winter of 2004 gas consumption at that Canyon Creek dropped by about 30 per cent. It was good enough to proceed, and Dalton gave the go-ahead to put in a second system, this time at the Jack Astor's bar and grill near Square One shopping mall in Mississauga.
That system, which was much more sophisticated, saved the restaurant $43,000 in energy costs in 2006, resulting in a 21-month payback.
"The systems have gotten better and better as we've installed more," says Dalton.
Word is spreading. Martin Air has put in a system for the Charcoal Steak House in Waterloo and just finished its first installation at a Boston Pizza in Milton. Another is in the process of being installed at a Moxie's Classic Grill, part of a national chain based out of Calgary.
The company also has plans to design a smaller system, and a local Wendy's franchisee has expressed interest in giving it a try.
"We're ready to take on a few more of the chains now," says Martin.
"For us the next step is to establish support for systems across the country, so when a chain says it's going to build a new store in Brandon, Manitoba, we have somebody there who can service it."
Vent Master, a subsidiary of Halton Group, the biggest kitchen ventilation company in the world, has agreed to market the system in Canada, the United States and other countries, says Martin.
"The point I would like to get across is that all new restaurants should incorporate this," he says, calling it low-hanging fruit as far as energy-efficiency technologies go.
Retrofits may be a tougher sell, though even a three-year payback is nothing to sneeze at. If the Ontario government were serious about conservation and energy efficiency, it would create a low-interest revolving fund that could be used by restaurant owners and chain operators to finance heat-recovery retrofits.
The money could be paid back in a few years with the savings, the restaurant enjoys from continued efficiencies, and the government achieves its objective of reducing greenhouse gas through the smart use of fossil fuels. Above all, there's minimal risk to taxpayer dollars.
As far as hanging fruit goes, you can't get much lower.
-------------------------------------
Why waste waste heat? TheStar.com - Business - Why waste waste heat?
Technology captures energy from warm restaurant exhaust
Tyler Hamilton
Toronto Star
Take a peek inside the kitchen of any busy restaurant and you'll quickly realize there's a lot of heat being produced, and wasted.
Ovens are constantly on and being opened, grills sizzle with burgers and steaks, pots boil with soups, sauces and pastas, and hot water and steam wash dishes and cutlery. Where does all that heat go? Well, it usually gets sucked up an exhaust stack and released into the air.
Meanwhile, under a separate process, natural gas is typically used to heat up municipal water and, in the winter, the fresh air coming into a restaurant through an intake vent.
"Why buy gas to heat a restaurant when thousands of dollars of that heat is sent up an exhaust stack every month?" says Jeff Martin, president of Martin Air Systems.
The Burlington entrepreneur says there's no reason for such waste – and he's proving it. For the past three years his company has retrofitted a number of restaurants around the GTA with a system that captures otherwise wasted kitchen heat and uses it to pre-heat water and restaurant air.
The result? "Total gas consumption drops 35 to 40 per cent," says Martin, pointing out that about half of all restaurant gas consumption is for food preparation. This means that total costs strictly for building heating and hot water are being reduced by 75 to 80 per cent.
In the summer, when building heat isn't required, all of the waste heat goes toward pre-heating water. "You'd be amazed at how much hot water a restaurant goes through," he says. "We've been able to pre-heat the water to 120 degrees F."
Systems vary in size and cost depending on the restaurant. But energy savings on a $75,000 retrofit, for example, have translated into a payback period ranging from two to three years. If the heat recovery system is built into a new restaurant as it's constructed, the payback time can be as little as one year.
"That's because our unit replaces both the exhaust and makeup air unit they would have to purchase anyway," says Martin.
Such savings have convinced restaurant-chain owner SIR Corp. to wholeheartedly embrace the technology. So far 15 systems have been installed at a number of Jack Astor's, Canyon Creek and Alice Fazooli's restaurants around the city.
Two new Canyon Creeks, one in Scarborough and one in Vaughan, were designed with the system incorporated in to the restaurant's design from the start.
"Both of those restaurants are two of the most energy efficient in Canada," says Corey Dalton, chief operating officer of SIR. "We've committed to the system. We've got two new Jack Astor's under construction, and they will have the system in it as well."
Martin Air's heat-recovery system started as an experiment in 2004. Before then, the company spent most of its time designing and installing air-filtration systems for restaurants, particularly donut shops. Its biggest clients included Tim Hortons and Country Style.
"In the 1980s and 1990s we cornered that market," says Martin.
In 1998, Tim Hortons decided to go completely non-smoking, sparking an exodus of smokers from Tim Hortons to competing chains. Conversely, non-smokers at those chains migrated to Tim Hortons. The result was a mass exchange of customers.
But with smoking legislation on the way, shops like Country Style were forced to install smoking rooms or go non-smoking themselves. This created an opportunity for Martin Air, which between 2001 and 2004 constructed more than 100 smoking rooms for donut shops across Ontario. Smoking rooms were also built for restaurants in the SIR Corp. chain.
That business eventually dried up, however, with an all-out smoking ban in public places.
In 2004, Martin approached Canyon Creek in Burlington and suggested that they take an old exhaust system for its smoking room, move it over the kitchen and convert it into a heat-recovery system.
"We just wanted to test the concept," says Martin.
It was a gamble, Dalton adds. "None of us were sure it was going to work, but we took a shot. Martin took as much risk as we did initially because he put it in for free."
The effort paid off. Over the winter of 2004 gas consumption at that Canyon Creek dropped by about 30 per cent. It was good enough to proceed, and Dalton gave the go-ahead to put in a second system, this time at the Jack Astor's bar and grill near Square One shopping mall in Mississauga.
That system, which was much more sophisticated, saved the restaurant $43,000 in energy costs in 2006, resulting in a 21-month payback.
"The systems have gotten better and better as we've installed more," says Dalton.
Word is spreading. Martin Air has put in a system for the Charcoal Steak House in Waterloo and just finished its first installation at a Boston Pizza in Milton. Another is in the process of being installed at a Moxie's Classic Grill, part of a national chain based out of Calgary.
The company also has plans to design a smaller system, and a local Wendy's franchisee has expressed interest in giving it a try.
"We're ready to take on a few more of the chains now," says Martin.
"For us the next step is to establish support for systems across the country, so when a chain says it's going to build a new store in Brandon, Manitoba, we have somebody there who can service it."
Vent Master, a subsidiary of Halton Group, the biggest kitchen ventilation company in the world, has agreed to market the system in Canada, the United States and other countries, says Martin.
"The point I would like to get across is that all new restaurants should incorporate this," he says, calling it low-hanging fruit as far as energy-efficiency technologies go.
Retrofits may be a tougher sell, though even a three-year payback is nothing to sneeze at. If the Ontario government were serious about conservation and energy efficiency, it would create a low-interest revolving fund that could be used by restaurant owners and chain operators to finance heat-recovery retrofits.
The money could be paid back in a few years with the savings, the restaurant enjoys from continued efficiencies, and the government achieves its objective of reducing greenhouse gas through the smart use of fossil fuels. Above all, there's minimal risk to taxpayer dollars.
As far as hanging fruit goes, you can't get much lower.