JN| LEARN MORE AT energystar.gov ENERGY STAR®, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program, helps us all save money and protect our environment through energy efficient products and practices. For more information, visit www.energystar.gov COMMERCIAL KITCHEN EFFICIENCY PROGRAM Creating Energy- and Water-Efficient Restaurants with ENERGY STAR® National Grid (USA) is an electric and gas utility company that provides retail distribution in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island. In 2006, the company created an innovative initiative to reduce restaurant energy and water use. National Grid's Commercial Kitchen Efficiency Program helps restaurant operators overcome barriers to installing energy-efficient kitchen equipment and improve the energy and water efficiency of their restaurants by offering: • Financial incentives • Educational materials • Tips to identify highly efficient equipment • Energy assessments to show estimated energy and dollar savings associated with the program • Free high-efficiency pre-rinse spray valves (PRSVs) to encourage initial participation The initiative leverages ENERGY STAR qualified equipment. Outfitting an entire kitchen with a suite of ENERGY STAR qualified CFS equipment could save operators about 350 MBtu, or the equivalent of approximately $3,600, and could prevent 19 tons of greenhouse gas emissions1. In addition, some ENERGY STAR qualified CFS equipment saves water (see Table 1). Table 1 Potential Annual Energy and Water Savings2 ENERGY STAR Equipment Type 4 / ELECTRICITY (kWh) * NATURAL GAS (MBtu) 6 WATER (gallons) Commercial Fryers 1,100 50 - Convection Ovens 1,870 30 - Commercial Steamers 4,930 33 170,000 NATIONAL GRID'S BEST PRACTICES FOR PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT - A HOLISTIC APPROACH When developing their program. National Grid looked at both restaurant energy use and the program holistically. In addition to providing incentives for kitchen equipment, which is where restaurants use most of their energy (see Chart 1), the program offers incentives for both food service and heating equipment. By offering energy assessments, the program helps restaurateurs identify opportunities for efficiency throughout the entire building. Some of the ways the initiative met its goals are as follows: • Offering comprehensive incentives. Measures eligible for incentives include ENERGY STAR qualified CFS equipment, space heating, water heating, heat recovery, and newtechnologies. • Maintaining flexibility. The initial ENERGY STAR qualified fryer incentive was established at $300 for each equipment purchase. A low response rate led to raising incentives to $1,000, resulting in a 1,500% increase in customer participation. • Giving customers an additional reason to participate. The program offers free high-efficiency PRSVs to all new members of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association and to customers participating in restaurant energy assessments. This has been a successful recruiting tactic. Chart 1 Average Energy Use in Restaurants3 (Btu) Commercial kitchens use 59% of a restaurant's total energy consumption for sanitation, refrigeration, and food preparation. REFRIG 6% LIGHTING 13% SANITATION 18% FOOD PREP 35% HVAC 28% nationalgrid The power of action! A POA United States Environmental Protection m m Agency ------- NATIONAL GRID'S INNOVATIVE OUTREACH THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS Another key reason for National Grid's success is thatthey implemented an industry-wide program approach. National Grid partnered with various organizations that work within the CFS market to educate restaurateurs and promote the program. Their partners include a local gas consortium (GasNetworks), the Massachusetts Restaurant Association (MRA), manufacturers of commercial kitchen equipment, the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE), and local equipment distributors. Based on these strong partnerships, National Grid developed three marketing approaches to promote their incentives: • Webinars for industry professionals, CFS equipment manufacturers, dealers, and CEE. Through these webinars and by working with equipment manufacturers and local distributors. National Grid gave retailers and distributors the tools and information needed to promote energy-efficient purchases in the dealer showroom; as a result, National Grid was able to reach customers atthe critical time of product selection. • Direct Mailings to MRA's 1,500 current members and to new members when they join the association. MRA is a critical communication link and provides an effective channel for ongoing outreach to restaurants. Additionally, National Grid continues to offer direct mailings through equipment manufacturers and their distributors. • The "Traveling Road Show" is training that highlights restaurant success stories such as the Taranta Restaurant and Mezza Luna (see below), which show how easy it is to take advantage of the program. National Grid hosts these shows quarterly. SUCCESS STORIES The Mezza Luna Restaurant took a holistic approach for completing renovations in April 2009, according to E.J. Cubellis, chef and owner. With support from National Grid, Mezza Luna improved their energy performance by installing four ENERGY STAR qualified ovens. In addition, they installed energy-efficient fryers, PRSVs, HVAC equipment, occupancy sensors, insulation, and windows. ITALIAN FAMILY RESTAURANT The National Grid Commercial Kitchen Efficiency Program also engages large restaurant chains to help them reduce energy and water consumption. National Grid works with Papa Gino's, D'Angelo's, Pizzeria Uno, Chili's, Burger King, and the 99 Restaurant to identify opportunities to purchase energy-efficient equipment. National Grid encourages the chains to adopt equipment purchasing guidelines that encourage procurement of equipment that has earned the ENERGY STAR as well as other high-efficiency equipment. Taranta Restaurant has shown leadership under chef and owner Jose Duarte (pictured right) by installing ENERGY STAR qualified programmable thermostats, tankless water heaters, PRSVs, and energy-efficient lighting with support from National Grid. RESOURCES Other utilities can benefit from National Grid's experience when designing their own CFS incentive programs. Details about the National Grid program are available atwww.powerofaction.com4. The Environmental Protection Agency provides information about CFS equipment incentive programs in a best practices document, entitled CFS Program Administrator Guide for Utilities. This guide is located under "Guidebooks" atwww.energystar.gov/cfs. Another useful resource is the ENERGY STAR Guide for Restaurants, also located under "Guidebooks," which outlines how restaurant managers and owners can reduce energy and water consumption and help protect the environment. For additional information, contact: Una Song, U.S. EPA Michael Pace, National Grid Phone: (202) 343-9024 Phone: (781) 907-1610 E-mail: song.una@epa.gov E-mail: michael.pace@us.ngrid.com 'www.energystar.gov/cfs individual product pages accessible from www.energystar.gov/cfs 3Cooking Appliance Performance Report. PG&E Food Service Technology Center. www.fishnick.com/publications/appliancereports/special/Appliance_Report.pdf 4Use ZIP code 02451 and select either Small or Large Business from the drop down box. nationalgrid The power of action! £% United States Environmental Protection Agency ------- |