How To Reduce Commercial Kitchen Energy Consumption

Energy efficiency in commercial kitchens is crucial to managing energy bills in 2024. It is estimated that the catering industry consumes around 20,600 million kWh of energy every year. With surging business energy prices, it has never been more important to find energy savings where possible.

At British Business Energy, we are committed to providing businesses with energy-saving tips. In this article, our experts explain how small changes can make a big difference to your overall energy bill. Energy-efficient commercial kitchen equipment switches and water-saving tips can make a world of difference to how much energy commercial kitchens use.

Why Reduce Energy in Commercial Kitchens

Commercial kitchen energy efficiency is about more than just the end-of-month bill. By reducing your energy consumption, you can be part of the movement towards a greener Britain. In recent years, the government has announced ambitious targets to halt and even reverse climate change. To cut emissions by 2035 and hit net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, every business in the UK needs to reconsider its energy consumption.

Tips for Commercial Kitchen Energy Efficiency

Be Conscious About Your Water Consumption

A lot of commercial energy consumption comes from water usage. Water is an important part of day-to-day life in kitchens. When it comes to saving energy, water consumption reduction is one of the easiest changes to make.

We recommend using a low-flow kitchen faucet nozzle. Lots of restaurants and commercial kitchens use high-pressure nozzles. Throughout the day, kitchen staff use the nozzle to rinse plates and clear surfaces. They can use far more water than necessary without realising it. By making this simple change, you can improve your commercial kitchen’s energy efficiency without impacting your day-to-day operations.

Large-scale commercial businesses lose hundreds of pounds a year due to leaky faucets and appliances. It can be easy to ignore small leaks. Fixing the problem when it first arises can save you money in the long run. If you ignore leaks for too long, you could be stuck with a hefty one-off lump sum bill. Check your faucets, toilets, and sinks once a week to avoid costly fixes and reduce your water consumption.

Buy Energy Efficient Commercial Kitchen Appliances

Energy efficient equipment can have a huge impact on your energy usage. Investing in more energy efficient appliances may seem like an unnecessary expense when profit margins are tight, but ensuring you have the right cooking equipment with energy saving measures in mind, can help shave £100s off your energy consumption.

Energy Star commercial energy kitchen appliances reduce utility and maintenance costs without sacrificing the state-of-the-art features that the brand is known for.

This brand only awards the energy star to appliances that save operators money. Commercial kitchen owners can choose from a range of dishwashers, refrigerators, ovens, and griddles. Energy Star stocks everything that you need to create a comprehensive commercial kitchen. This piece of energy-saving advice comes with higher initial costs, but it does promise long term savings. If you choose Energy Star’s energy-efficient commercial kitchen equipment, you could save up to £3,860 a year.

If you cannot afford to purchase new equipment, ensure that you check the energy rating of any new appliances you purchase in the future. Many businesses do not replace equipment regularly, so simple things like a regular maintenance schedule and regular cleaning can help improve the performance of kitchen and catering equipment.

Switch Off Appliances

The simplest advice is often the most efficient. This tip is far less expensive than switching to energy-efficient commercial kitchen equipment. In fact, it is completely free! Simply switch off all your appliances and lights when they are not in use. Just remember not to switch any refrigeration equipment off!

You can even make savings on your gas and electricity by turning appliances to a lower setting. When day-to-day operations begin, it is easy to forget that most appliances operate on a sliding scale of power. Simply switching off appliances is a really easy way of improving energy efficiency.

Some pieces of kitchen equipment even have a standby mode, a classic example of wasted energy that can sneakily increase running costs.

Energy Saving Bulbs

It isn't always possible to allow natural lighting into commercial kitchens. With lighting on for the majority of the day, it is crucial to eliminate energy waste from older light bulbs. Investing in LED lightbulbs is an inexpensive way to shave usage off your energy consumption.

Create Incentives for Staff

All the energy-efficient commercial kitchen appliances in the world will not work if your staff members are not on board. We recommend creating goals and incentives for staff members who help to reduce energy consumption in your kitchen. If you build a community around your goals, they are far more likely to take hold and create long-lasting results. It is very difficult to save energy when you do not have your team buying into carbon footprint reduction journey.

An employee of the month award will be far cheaper than your current energy bill. By rewarding employees, you will also create a better working environment overall and become part of the push towards a greener Britain.

Switch Energy Suppliers

If you do not have a large lump sum to buy Energy Star commercial kitchen equipment or to fix leaky sinks, you should consider switching. Switching business energy suppliers is the easiest way to reduce your energy costs. Although small changes and regular maintenance can cut your energy consumption, they cannot change your energy unit price.

At British Business Energy, we give business owners a comprehensive overview of their options. Simply put your details into our energy comparison generator and find the best deal for your business in under a minute. When you use our site, making real savings has never been easier.