Food Service

There’s a wide variety of energy-efficient electric equipment that can be used to prepare meals in today’s commercial kitchens. The options include refrigeration, processing, and cooking equipment; equipment for cleaning and sanitizing pots, pans, and dishes; and equipment designed to ventilate or exhaust the by-products of the cooking process.

TVA and local public power companies work with food-service-related customers to conduct feasibility studies that compare the operating costs of different food-preparation systems. There are a number of energy-efficient cooking options for commercial and institutional cooking, including:

• Convection ovens. This type of oven is 20 to 30 percent more efficient than a deck oven, requires less preheating and recovery time, and cooks more food in less time at a lower temperature.
• Convection steamers. They cook vegetables more efficiently and require less time and energy than stove-top equipment.
• Self-contained trunnion kettles. These kettles offer more efficiency than stovetop or stockpot cooking. They also require less cooling equipment because the large heat gains common with stovetop cooking are avoided.

Dishwashers are classified as high- or low-temperature machines. High-temperature machines keep the wash-cycle tank at 140 degrees Fahrenheit and require a booster water heater to produce 180-degree water for the rinse cycle. Low-temperature machines use 110- to 140-degree water in combination with chemicals for sanitation. High-temperature dishwashers use more energy, but low-temperature machines use twice as much water and may cost more to operate as a result.

We can help you pick the best food-preparation equipment to fit your needs. For more information, contact your local power distributor or TVA’s Industrial and Large Commercial Products and Services at 615-232-6814.