Green Energy Blog

By Jay Fiske,
VP Business Development,
Powerhouse Dynamics

This is a portion of a post on MultiBriefs Exclusive.

Is it really possible just one tiny change in your kitchen could be the equivalent of increasing annual sales by $9,000? According to the International Facility Management Association, just by rolling back your broiler on-time by an hour a day, you can save $450 a year — that’s pure profit that drops right to the bottom line. For an operation with a 5 percent profit margin, it would take an increase of $9,000 in sales to yield that $450 in profit. And that’s just one piece of equipment. So what profits are lurking in your kitchen? Here are some tips to ferret them out.

1. Keep your equipment clean. Seems simple, but in the high-pressure, food service industry, this is a job that often sinks to the bottom of the list. Unfortunately when that happens, it’s your money that goes down the drain. Daily cleaning prevents the build-up of dirt, grease and food scraps that can impede energy efficiency and shorten the life of your equipment.
2. Maintenance — an ounce of prevention. Going hand-in-hand with cleaning, regular maintenance also optimizes performance and extends the life your equipment. Using the equipment manuals that came with your equipment, develop a maintenance schedule and repair log. Look for leaky gaskets, clogged burners, misalignment of doors and the accuracy of thermostats. At Foodservice.com, scroll to the bottom of the page and link to some templates to get you started. If you can’t locate your owner’s manuals, they can usually be downloaded from the manufacturers’ websites, even those for older equipment.

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By Jay Fiske,
VP Business Development,
Powerhouse Dynamics

This is a portion of a post on MultiBriefs Exclusive.

If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. It may be an old adage, but five minutes in a bustling kitchen leaves little doubt that it’s also literally true. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, restaurants spend approximately three times more per square foot than other small commercial facilities for electricity. More than a third of that cost can be directly traced to heating, ventilating and air conditioning. Here are some simple tips that can help you save money and boost the bottom line:

HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING

1. Set your thermostat wisely. When the restaurant is open, set thermostats at 68 degrees when it’s cold and 78 degrees when it’s hot. When the restaurant is closed, dial settings back by another 10 degrees, perhaps 58 degrees during cold months and 88 degrees when the weather is hot.
2. Consider a programmable thermostat. When properly programmed, such a thermostat gives you complete charge over when, where and how much energy is used. To ensure against employee “thermostat wars,” you may want to consider a tamper-proof installation or a thermostat that can be controlled remotely and locked out with software.

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By Jay Fiske,
VP Business Development,
Powerhouse Dynamics

This is a portion of a post on MultiBriefs Exclusive.

Would you schedule your wait staff to work when your restaurant isn’t open? Would you want to pay them starting at 7:30 a.m. even though lunch service doesn’t start until 11:30 a.m.? Of course not. Well, you may be doing exactly that with your energy.

The scenario is a common one. It’s early. Diners won’t be arriving for hours, but your kitchen staff is already arriving. What’s first on the day’s agenda? Flip on the lights, turn on the flat top, the broiler and all of the other equipment needed for the upcoming service. Then grab a quick cup of coffee before the day begins in earnest. When you think about it, it sounds crazy, but that has been common practice in the restaurant business for decades.

You can almost hear the electric meter spin. The good news, however, is that much of that “spin” can be controlled by your front-line team members and the assistance of a startup/shutdown schedule. Most of the energy used in a foodservice operation is related to food preparation, followed by heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC).

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By Jay Fiske,
VP Business Development,
Powerhouse Dynamics

This is a portion of a post on MultiBriefs Exclusive.

Saving energy is a team sport. It’s not rocket science — it’s as much about profitability as food and labor costs. Financial giant Deloitte conducted a recent survey and found that 60 percent of company CFOs questioned saw sustainability as a key driver of financial results. Just think about it — if you could cut energy use by 10 percent in your business, what would that do to your profits?

But there’s more, much more. It’s also about competitive advantage. Respected research firm Technomics recently found that a full 52 percent of consumers polled said they would visit sustainable restaurants more often than those who weren’t committed to the cause. Now that’s a loyalty program that won’t cost you a cent.

There’s no doubt conserving energy requires thought, a clear action plan and quantifiable goals, but you’re not alone in the effort. Your employees can be your most valuable players in this game, and it cannot be done without their buy-in. So how do you get that?

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By Jay Fiske,
VP Business Development,
Powerhouse Dynamics

This is a portion of a post on MultiBriefs Exclusive.

Are energy hogs robbing you blind? There’s only one way to hunt the scavengers down — conduct an audit of your facilities. Many utilities may be willing to do that for you. However, if you prefer to do the hunting yourself, following are a few areas to review, according to the Food Service Technology Center (FSTC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Food preparation: Accounts for 35 percent of energy usage.

1. Start-up/shut-down schedule: Do you have a schedule for kitchen equipment or is it on all the time? This is an easy one — if it’s not needed, shut it down.
2. Range tops: Are they clean and in good repair? Are pilot lights operating correctly?
3. ovens and steamers: Are doors properly aligned and gaskets in good repair so heat and steam are not escaping?

HVAC: Accounts for 28 percent of energy usage.

1. Thermostats: Are they programmed to provide comfortable ambient temperatures for guests and employees? The EPA suggests air conditioning settings of 76 degrees F for occupied cooling and 85 degrees F for unoccupied areas. For heating, the recommendation is 68 degrees F and 55 degrees F, respectively. Where feasible, turn thermostats off when your business is closed.
2. Ventilation: When appliances are off, are the exhaust and make-up systems also off? Are your appliances placed completely under exhaust hoods? Are your exhaust hood grease filters clean and in good repair? If not, the cost could be far more than energy — it is a fire hazard.
3. Outside: Are patio space heaters and misters turned off when the area is unoccupied? Are rooftop exhaust fans clean? Are any belts loose or broken?

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By Jay Fiske,
VP Business Development,
Powerhouse Dynamics

This is a portion of a post on MultiBriefs Exclusive.

It’s said that every journey begins with one step, but that’s not actually true because it assumes you know where you are when you begin. This article will help you figure out where the starting line is so you can measure your energy-saving progress. Whether you have one restaurant or a dozen, the method is essentially the same, although multi-unit operators can take the process one step further by comparing similar units to each other.

Begin by gathering your electricity bills for the last year so you’ll have a benchmark for every month of the year. Like year-over-year revenue, this will allow you to compare like months, adjusting for normal seasonality and other factors. It tells you how much you spend on energy each month, but so much more. It also tells you when and how you spend those energy dollars.

Before you begin your analysis, it is important to understand the difference between energy (kWh) and power (kW). Energy is equal to the amount of power a device uses over a given period of time. For example, a 100-watt (W) light bulb — remember those? — burning for 1 hour uses 100W x 1hr, or 100 watt-hours (Wh). 1,000Wh equals 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh). A kWh is a basic unit of measurement for how much electricity you use. The light bulb’s power rating (100W) describes how much power it consumes when running; it is a measurement of the rate at which energy is being used.

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By Jay Fiske,
VP Business Development,
Powerhouse Dynamics

This is a portion of a post on MultiBriefs Exclusive.

As the economy and the foodservice industry appear to be gaining steam, are you prepared to reap the full benefit? There are still plenty of business challenges that require both business acumen and financial agility. Whether it’s food costs, labor costs or overhead, operators must keep all of the plates in the air and spinning if they are to maximize profits and head off a potential business crash before it literally brings down the house.

While operators are conditioned to keep a tight rein on food and labor costs, when it comes to overhead, many throw up their hands in frustration and resignation. You may not be able to change the terms of your lease or rising property taxes, but energy, along with food and labor, are “the big three.” And you can tame your energy costs just like you do the other two.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), restaurants use five to seven times more energy than office buildings or retail stores. For quick-service establishments that can reach ten times that of other commercial buildings. Did you know that just one typical electric deep-fat fryer uses more than 18,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) and costs more than $1,700 in an average year? That’s more than $140 a month for just one piece of equipment.

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By Martin Flusberg,
CEO Powerhouse Dynamics

Little Known, Short-Lived Bi-Partisan Legislation that
Could have Made a Difference

Energy Efficiency may be referred to as the “Fifth Fuel”, but it has never really gotten the public attention of the first four (coal, petroleum, nuclear, and alternative energy) – and certainly is not as sexy as renewable energy.   After all, you can’t visualize energy efficiency the way you can a snazzy new rooftop Solar Photovoltaic (PV) array.

The tax code has also been stacked against efficiency.  Consider that utility bills are fully deductible expenses, but the capital cost of energy efficiency retrofits must be depreciated over multiple years.

Section 179D of the Internal Revenue code (The Energy Efficient Buildings Tax Deduction, a name by which it almost never seems to be referred), which passed in 2005 and was extended in 2008, attempted to address this by providing a $1.80 per square foot tax deduction for energy efficiency improvements.

The problem is that very few buildings have taken advantage of this deduction.  Forgetting about whether businesses are even aware of it, the rule has several key flaws.  First, it requires the project to result in energy use 50 percent below the guidelines established in the 2001 code of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) – almost impossible except in the case of new construction.  Second, $1.80 per square foot is a fairly limited incentive.  And, finally, it can only be claimed by the owner of the building – who often is not the one paying the bills, and therefore not necessarily interested in efficiency improvements.

The “Commercial Building Modernization Act” – quietly introduced in September 2012 by a then bi-partisan group of Senators (Olympia Snowe, the only Republican sponsor, has since left the Senate), attempted to address some of these flaws.  In addition to extending Section 179D for 5 more years, it would have increased the maximum deduction to $4.00 per square foot – with a sliding scale based on the level of efficiency achieved.  It allowed deductions to begin with as little as a 20% reduction in energy use – a much more realistic target.  It also extended the deductions to allow groups other than the owner – including tenants and Real Estate Investment Trusts – to take advantage of them.  The Bill also provided for 60% of the deduction to be taken up front.

Unfortunately, the Bill was referred to committee and died a very quick death when the Senate adjourned for the year.

Energy efficiency boosts profits which can drive business and jobs growth – not to mention create jobs via the energy efficiency retrofits themselves.  I have no idea if legislation like this would have any chance of passing in the current political climate, although it is a bill that both parties should find something positive about.  But, we will never find out unless the bill is reintroduced.  So, please, let your representatives know that there is a constituency for energy efficiency out there.

Guest Post on Viewpoints Blog

Dishwasher “Quick Wash” Saves More Than Time

This is part of a guest post on the Viewpoints consumer blog

What happens when you use the “Quick Wash” setting on your dishwasher — even when you aren’t pressed for time? Viewpoints welcomes the smart people at Powerhouse Dynamics, a leader in energy measurement and management, as expert contributors to our blog. They discovered something that could save you money.

by Jay Fiske, Viewpoints Expert Contributor 

I’m one of those people who rinses all the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.  I know I’m not supposed to do this – modern detergents need to “eat” something, and if there are no bits of food to eat, the detergent will eat my dishes, or something like that — but I can’t seem to help myself.

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By Martin Flusberg,
CEO Powerhouse Dynamics

Several events – dramatic events for the most part – prompted this post.

The first was super storm Sandy.  As someone who did not live through this, I can only react to the amazing images of destruction and sounds of suffering.  But, I was struck once again by the impact of being without power.  We simply cannot live without it, other than for perhaps a couple of days.  (My family has lost power for 4 days twice as a result of hurricanes, and, no matter how much of a game you try to make of it, it gets tiring very quickly).  Without power in today’s society you don’t seem to be able to do very much at all, including things you may not expect.  For example, there were long gas lines in the New York metro area, resulting from a variety of factors, including the inability to get gas delivered, as well as the inability to pump it in stations that had gas but no power.

This issue is brought to dramatic life by the TV series Revolution.  While the main concept may be a bit stretched – the world loses all power including the power of internal combustion engines – the show dramatizes the effective collapse of society when the power fails to return.

I thought about the importance of electricity and power in our society from a much pleasanter vantage point last month: on board a beautiful ship, watching the total solar eclipse of the sun in the South Pacific.  For those who have never experienced a total eclipse, it is really hard to do justice to a description; it really is an amazing event.  This was a first experience for my wife and me; but as we learned quickly, for some of the eclipse chasers on the ship this was experience number 16.

The eclipse totally blotted out the sun – making it colder and darker and reminding me

how critical this source of power is, and what we would lose if this power source got snuffed out.  Okay, we would lose everything, so this is not a direct analogy, but the eclipse also reminded me of the potential role of the sun in power production – and how much more is needed to leverage that power on a global scale.

This blackout, of course, only last 3 minutes — not 3 days or weeks.

On my return I went to look up a NASA image that I had thought did a great job demonstrating the role the sun played and the vastness of the energy produced.  I found an even better rendition of that, created by Frank di Mierlo,reproduced below:

The sun produces 174 petawatts of power, of which over half gets absorbed by the earth.  A petawatt is 1quadrillion watts, a tough number to get your head around.  The energy from the sun warms the air, which then evaporates water from the oceans and generates atmospheric circulation.  When the air reaches an altitude where the temperature is lower, water vapor condenses into clouds, which rain onto the Earth’s surface, completing the water cycle.  The heat released from water condensing amplifies convection, producing atmospheric phenomena such as wind – and cyclones.  Via photosynthesis, green plants convert solar energy into chemical energy, which produces food, wood and, ultimately, fossil fuels.

To put this level of power production in perspective, the earth absorbs more energy from the sun in 1 hour than the population of the earth uses in 1 year.  In other words, the sun theoretically has the potential to meet all of our energy needs.  Currently, it is used directly to produce only a small fraction of the power generated in the world.

The good news is that it is starting to be leveraged more effectively. A recent study by GTM research reports that the US is going to deploy 1.2GW (a gigawatt is one billion watts; long way to go to get to a petawatt) of solar power in the 4^th quarter of 2012, bringing total installation for the year to 3.2GW for the year, headed to 3.9M next year, and 8 GW by 2016.  While this remains a small percentage of electricity use in the US – estimated at about 4% – and an even smaller percentage of the sun’s power, it represents a sizeable and growing trend.

A lot has been made of the failure of some well-known solar companies over the past year or so.  What is rarely mentioned is the cause of some of those failures – the rapid reduction in the cost of PV and other solar technologies, brought about by innovation and competition.   While this is bad news for the companies affected, it is very good news for consumers and businesses, who have seen the cost of system installations plummet.  While we are not yet at “grid parity” (the point at which solar can compete with traditional fuels for electricity generation) in most electricity markets, we are getting very close in some areas.  And these cost reductions are helping many companies in the solar industry; witness the recent IPO for solar leasing pioneer Solar City.  Further research and support of the solar industry can get us there, and enable us to do a much better job at leveraging the vast power of the sun to power the world.

Of course, to get solar power to this point there are still a lot of hurdles to address other than cost alone – such as the need for effective storage for when the sun is not shining.  And, solar power will not solve the problem of power grid disruptions caused by massive storms.  But, it should, and could play a much broader role in our energy policy and directions over the coming year.

Please do not read anything into the fact that this was posted on 12-21-12.