Commercial Cooking - School Cafeterias Case Study

CASE STUDY: ENERGY SAVINGS IN AUSTIN PUBLIC SCHOOLS MEAN HEALTHIER FOOD ON THE MENU

The eight schools in Austin Public School District in Minnesota feed 4,300 children every day.  The district’s high-volume production requirements make reliability and quality essential for the schools’ cafeteria equipment. Aided by a local food service equipment distributor, the district thoroughly researched energy efficient equipment that would satisfy their needs.

Taking advantage of incentives provided their utility, Austin Public Schools ultimately installed new Energy Star qualified and high-efficiency commercial cooking appliances at four of their school sites including:

•    3 Energy Star qualified reach-in refrigerators
•    3 Energy Star qualified reach-in freezers
•    2 Energy Star qualified electric steamers
•    3 Energy Star qualified hot food holding cabinets
•    4 gas convection ovens

This equipment provides the Austin Public School District with annual savings of $3,500. Additionally, these energy efficient appliances are expected to save the district 32,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, 400 therms of natural gas, and 340,000 gallons of water each year.

The new appliances have also resulted in healthier food options. By purchasing new steamers, the district’s high school was able to retire its deep fryer.  Additionally, with the utility bill savings from the new efficient appliances, the school is able to purchase fruits and vegetables that were previously out of its price range.  By installing energy efficient cooking appliances, Austin Public Schools provides higher quality foods to students while also cutting costs and saving energy.

Photo credit: UTILITY refrigerator