Potential energy savings are often ignored in large-scale kitchens

Constantly-rising energy prices are a nuisance for caterers, every bit as much as for private households. But potential savings are all too often ignored, particularly in the kitchen. People cook with old technology and the units run continuously in standby mode and that is just for starters. There are essentially two decisive factors that will ensure a positive energy balance in the kitchen; the first is the efficient use of energy and the second is to avoid power consumption peaks.  

Boiling, pan-frying, steaming and grilling are all high-energy processes in which food is heated from an average 5 °C refrigerator temperature to 70 °C and above. There is no question that some energy has to be expended in doing this, but the interesting thing is to consider how the amount of energy needed can be transferred to the food as efficiently as possible. Finally, the thermal energy should be used to heat the food, and not to heat up the kitchen environment, as is the case with open appliances such as grill plates and deep-fat fryers.

Today, many open appliances can be wholly or partly replaced by using a single multifunctional cooking appliance such as a SelfCooking Center^®. This both reduces the number of units operated in the large-scale kitchen in absolute terms and makes the cooking process significantly more efficient because it takes place in a closed cooking cabinet. The heating up time is also extremely short, which means that standby mode is no longer required.

Another potential saving is to invest in appliances that control the cooking process automatically. Throughout the cooking process, only the exact amount of energy that can be absorbed by the food is supplied. Cooking parameters such as temperature, time, humidity and air speed are constantly matched to the progress of the individual food.

The use of intelligent energy management systems aims to reduce current peaks in daily consumption. The annual power consumption can be reduced by 5 - 25 % with no detrimental effect on production by installing such a system.

Another way to achieve a uniform power consumption is to take the stress out of the main production period in the morning. Products with particularly long cooking times, such as braised dishes, are produced overnight. Using the night also saves considerable time during the day. Modern production methods such as Finishing^® also contribution to a reduction of current peaks. With Finishing^®, the food is prepared in advance, chilled and is only brought up to serving temperature just before it is served. As a result, the times at which the food is produced and served can be almost entirely disconnected.

To sum up, there are considerable potential savings to be made by using a multifunctional appliance (effectiveness) and by using it cleverly, e.g. overnight (efficiency). Depending on the structure of the kitchen it is possible to save up to 60 % energy in this way compared to conventional cooking appliances. One unit that covers 100 % of all these aspects of energy saving is the SelfCooking Center^® from Rational. Investment in a SelfCooking Center^® will pay for itself within a year on average.