Restaurants are one of the highest industry spenders per square foot when it comes to utilities. With AC, cooking equipment, refrigeration, and dishwashing running constantly utilities can be a high line item.
The good news is there are several ways you can lower these costs through little to no investment adding more money back into your operation’s bottom line. What could your business do with a couple extra thousands in savings per year?
1. Seal Air Leaks
Sealing air leaks is a simple task. For the price of caulk or sealant, your restaurant could save on valuable cool air that you pay for going out the door. AC is not cheap and ensuring that the cool air that you are paying for stays in your building can have a decent impact on your utility bills. The largest culprits for this are doors, windows, and vents.
Also, make sure that your building is insulated properly to maintain the optimum level of comfort for the best price. Ensuring there are little to no air leaks and proper insulation will not only help your wallet but your HVAC too. Reducing its strain will help keep your guests happy along with your budget.
2. Utility Bill Analysis
One simple way to reduce your utility spend is through an off-site utility bill analysis. This analysis looks at your historical billing record to find errors or overcharges. If there are any, you receive a refund. This type of analysis also looks at your restaurant’s specific usage to find any other rate options through your power provider that would be more beneficial.
Utility Management Services completes this analysis by looking for any refunds and also any future savings with ongoing monitoring of your usage. Our commitment is to never charge unless savings or refunds are uncovered, meaning no upfront costs to you. Just simply sign and save.
3. Employee Training
Another great way to cut down on energy is by training employees to be good stewards of energy-intensive equipment. Turning off the lights in no-traffic spaces, ensuring walk-ins are sealed upon exit, and no exterior doors are left ajar, can have a significant impact. By reminding employees to be energy conscious you can lower your bills and ensure your business operations are more sustainable.
Instilling an incentive program for your team to report equipment issues is another great way to lower your energy usage. This program can recognize employees helping to limit energy waste. For example, if a cooler is not cooling properly it must be reported.
4. LED Lighting
One of the most common ways to reduce your utility bills is by investing in more energy-efficient equipment. A cost-effective investment is installing LED light bulbs. These are known to have a longer life span and are more energy efficient making the investment well worth it.
Your power provider might even offer a paid incentive if you make this investment through a rebate program. Check out Utility Genius, a free platform designed to help you easily access what rebate programs you might qualify for. Get compensated financially and lower your utility bills all at the same time by utilizing rebates and equipment upgrades!
5. Manage Heating & Cooling
Most restaurants constantly run AC even during cooler months due to the sheer amount of heat being produced by equipment, employees, and solar heat. Solar heat comes through windows into the establishment raising the temperature and therefore strain on your AC unit. A great way to limit this heat is to utilize curtains in the dining areas.
One more solution to limit energy use on HVAC units is changing the thermostat when not in operation. If you are a restaurant with limited hours of service to customers, turning the AC down even a few degrees during off hours can have a big impact on your bill. Of course, if you are a multi-shift restaurant this might not be an option but adjusting it a degree or two can still help.
The last thing you can do related to HVAC is always ensure that the proper maintenance is completed. Even replacing a filter can lower your air conditioner’s energy consumption by 5% to 15%.
