ENERGY-SAVING
SOLUTIONS
Energy-Saving Solutions
for Restaurants
Saving energy presents a unique challenge to
the restaurant industry. Food safety and food
security, along with providing customers with
menu choices, are top priorities, and food must
be stored and prepared at precise temperatures
for health and culinary reasons. There are
many ways restaurants can provide top-quality
service to their customers while being energy
efficient. Here are some steps to help reduce
energy usage, conserve natural resources and
improve your bottom line.
NO-COST
ENERGY-SAVING MEASURES
Lighting
• Reduce lighting where possible. Turn off
lights in unoccupied areas, remove
excess lighting, and turn off signage
and other lights that are not necessary
for security and safety.
• Turn off lights in areas where daylight is
sufficient. Keep lighting fixtures and
lamps clean. Remove lamps wherever
possible.
• Make sure time clock and photocell
lighting controllers are working
properly and set correctly. Exterior
lighting should be off during the
daytime hours.
The first step to managing energy
usage is knowing where your busi-
ness consumes the most energy.
This chart illustrates how a
typical restaurant uses energy.
1%
2%
5%
8% 40%
13%
31%
Cooling 40%
Cooking/refrigeration 31%
Heating, ventilating and Lighting 13%
air conditioning (HVAC)
Miscellaneous 8%
• Maintain evaporative coolers by
checking fans, pumps and evaporation Ventilation 5%
pads. Make sure the bleed-off is Office equipment 2%
working properly, so minerals in the
water are not deposited on the pads. Heating 1%
• Make sure the air-conditioning
economizers are working properly and replace air filters, check fan belts,
set to maximize the benefits of “free lubricate motors, pumps and fans, check
cooling.” compressor oil levels, and inspect for
• Pay attention to your thermostat refrigerant leaks.
settings. Set air-conditioning • Seal off unused areas and reduce or
thermostats to 78°F or higher. When eliminate heating or cooling in these
heating, 68°F is the recommended spaces. Storage rooms, warehouses and
temperature. Turn off HVAC equipment other unoccupied areas are good places
when the restaurant is unoccupied. to start.
• Follow a routine maintenance schedule. • Keep exterior doors closed as much as
Regularly clean and vacuum easily possible so that you’re not paying to
accessible components, clean or heat or cool the outdoors.
(continued)

ENERGY-SAVING SOLUTIONS FOR RESTAURANTS (continued)
Refrigeration
• Turn off the reach-in refrigerator door
heaters whenever possible.
• Keep refrigerators at least 4 inches
from the walls for proper air circulation.
• Set the defrost controls to operate
regularly. Avoid defrosting more often
than necessary and try not to defrost
during the summer peak energy usage
period of 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays.
• Use the right temperature setting.
Keeping foods colder than necessary
costs more and rarely pays off in
extended shelf life.
• Clean the condenser coils. Also, check
gaskets and latches on doors to be sure
they form an airtight seal when closed.
Cooking
• Implement a schedule for the start up
and shut down of cooking equipment
and appliances. Turn off equipment and
appliances when not needed.
• Calibrate oven thermostats.
• Check the operation of gas burners by
inspecting burners, oven door closings
and the condition of insulation.
• Use correctly sized equipment for all
operations. During slow periods, turn
down the flame between orders. Keep
the burners and equipment clean.
Water heating/sanitation
• Fully load the dishwasher before
running it. Turn off tank heaters and hot
water recirculation pumps when the
restaurant is closed.
• Do not leave water running unless it's
necessary, especially hot water.
• Clean the dishwasher on a regular basis,
inspect the wash and rinse jets after
each use, empty the scrap trays and use
a de-liming solution regularly. Lime
build-up will clog the wash and rinse jets.
• Turn off the booster heaters. Turn the
dishwasher water heaters off when the
machine is not in use and at closing
time. It costs money to heat the water,
whether it is used or not.
Office equipment
• Reduce the hours your equipment is
left running unnecessarily. Personal
computers, monitors, printers, copiers
and scanners should be turned off at night
and whenever they’re not in use.
LOW-COST
ENERGY-SAVING MEASURES
Lighting
• Energy-efficient lighting may enhance
the appearance of your restaurant's
food, create ambiance or improve
outdoor security.
• Install motion sensors to turn off lights
when not needed in storage areas,
conference rooms, restrooms and
unoccupied areas.
• Install timers, time clocks or photocells
to ensure that interior and exterior lights
are turned off at the appropriate times.
• Incandescent lamps can often be
replaced with compact fluorescent lamps
that can significantly reduce lighting
costs and last up to 10 times longer.
ENERGY-SAVING
SOLUTIONS
• Purchase ENERGY STAR® qualified
replacement lamps.
• Install timer switches or occupancy
sensors on the lights for the low-
temperature walk-in refrigerators and
freezers.
• Retrofit incandescent or mercury vapor
parking lot lights with more energy-
efficient lighting, such as high-pressure
sodium vapor (HPSV) lighting.
• Replace or retrofit the incandescent
lights in exit signs with light-emitting
diode (LED) lamps. Also replace or
retrofit channel sign lighting with LED
lamps.
HVAC
• Install programmable thermostats.
• Perform preventive maintenance on
rooftop equipment. Replace HVAC filters
at least once every three months,
insulate rooftop refrigerant lines, clean
the condenser coils and shade coils
from the sun if possible.
• Invest in energy-efficient equipment.
When upgrading or adding new
equipment, look for the ENERGY STAR
label, which indicates the equipment
meets federal standards for energy
efficiency.
Refrigeration
• Remotely locate the refrigeration
condensing units, if possible.
• Install strip curtains, door auto-closers,
evaporator fan controllers, and efficient
evaporator fan motors on the walk-in
boxes.
(continued)

ENERGY-SAVING SOLUTIONS FOR RESTAURANTS (continued)
• Replace cracked or worn door gaskets
on refrigerators and freezers.
• Clean the condenser coils and make
sure the system has a full refrigerant
charge with no leaks.
• Replace inefficient ice machines and
any other inefficient refrigeration
equipment with energy-efficient
models.
Cooking
• Replace standard gas pilot lights with
electronic ignitions.
• Check that burners are clean and
operating at an optimum ratio of
air-to-fuel.
• Replace inefficient fryers, holding
cabinets, steamers and any other
inefficient cooking equipment.
Water heating
• Install water flow restrictors and
aerators, especially in sink faucets.
In addition to saving on water-heating
costs, these measures can save money
by reducing water usage.
• Install low-flow spray nozzles to
pre-rinse dishes to save both energy
and water.
• Insulate tanks and pipes. This simple
measure will reduce standby heat loss.
• Evaluate the cost effectiveness of
retrofitting your water-heating
equipment with instantaneous water
heaters.
Office equipment
• Choose ENERGY STAR qualified products
when upgrading or adding new
*Rebate programs and services are funded by California utility customers and administered by SDG&E under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission. Programs may be modified or terminated
without prior notice, and are provided to qualified customers on a first-come, first-served basis until program funds are no longer available. For more information, call 1-800-644-6133 or visit
www.sdge.com/business.
equipment. These products meet federal
standards for energy efficiency, and are
often available at the same cost as less
efficient models. And since most
ENERGY STAR qualified equipment
powers down during periods of
inactivity, it produces less heat, which
can help you save on air-conditioning
costs.
INVESTMENTS
IN ENERGY SAVINGS
Lighting
• Replace existing T-12 fluorescent lamps
and magnetic ballasts with T-8 or T-5
lamps with electronic ballasts.
• Install electronic dimmable ballasts and
daylighting controls to dim the lights
when sufficient daylight is available.
• Replace incandescent or mercury vapor
parking lot lights with metal halide or
high-pressure sodium vapor (HPSV)
lighting.
HVAC
• When replacing HVAC units, install
high-efficiency equipment.
• Install low-emissivity windows to reduce
heat transfer through the windows.
Water heating/sanitation
• Consider installing a low-temperature
energy-efficient dishwasher with a
chemical rinse instead of hot water
rinses if local codes allow. A chemical
solution such as a bleach-type product
can possibly be used instead of 180˚F
water for the final rinse.
ENERGY-SAVING
SOLUTIONS
• Consider installing a refrigerant heat-
recovery system to use waste heat from
the refrigeration equipment to pre-heat
hot water.
Building systems
• Invest in energy-efficient equipment.
When upgrading or adding new
equipment, look for the ENERGY STAR
label, which indicates the equipment
meets federal standards for energy
efficiency.
HELPING BUSINESS
CUSTOMERS — REBATE
PROGRAMS AND SERVICES*
San Diego Gas & Electric® has rebates
available that can help businesses save
money on energy costs. The Small Business
Super Saver (SBSS) program targets small
businesses, and the Express Efficiency
rebate program is designed to help
medium and large commercial, industrial
and agricultural businesses. SDG&E's Small
Business Super Saver program has rebates
available to small business customers for
energy-efficient lighting, refrigeration,
food service and other technologies. For
more information, call 1-800-644-6133 or
visit www.sdge.com/sbsupersaver.
Express Efficiency helps customers retrofit
or replace old equipment with new energy-
saving technologies that can lower
operating costs and improve productivity.
For more information, call 1-800-644-6133
or visit www.sdge.com/express.
SBSS rebates apply to any small business
customer on a valid SDG&E® commercial,
industrial or agricultural rate with a
(continued)
 ENERGY-SAVING
SOLUTIONS

ENERGY-SAVING SOLUTIONS FOR RESTAURANTS (continued)

monthly electric demand under 100 Electric measures Energy use analysis surveys
kilowatts (kW) and/or an average monthly • Lighting
natural gas usage under 4,166 therms. The
(online and on site)
• Food service equipment These free surveys include an evaluation of
Express Efficiency rebate program applies
to accounts with a monthly electric • Refrigeration your business’s energy use, a customized
demand of 100 kW or higher and/or an chart of your usage and recommendations
average monthly natural gas usage above Natural gas measures for savings. You’ll find opportunities to
4,166 therms. Additional requirements • Boilers and water heaters reduce the cost of lighting, heating,
apply. • Food service equipment cooling, food service equipment and more.
To take the online survey, visit
For a list of available rebates for food • Pipe and tank insulation
www.sdge.com/analyzer, or call
service facilities, please visit
1-800-644-6133 to schedule an on-site
www.sdge.com/foodservice. MORE SERVICES TO HELP energy audit appointment.
SDG&E also offers On-Bill Financing (OBF).
BUSINESS CUSTOMERS Helping businesses understand and
This program is designed to facilitate the
manage their energy use is part of
purchase and installation of qualifying
Energy-efficiency SDG&E's commitment to providing
energy-efficiency measures by businesses
that might otherwise not be able to afford business seminars exceptional customer service and energy
solutions for the region.
these upgrades. For more information, visit SDG&E offers a variety of seminars and
www.sdge.com/obf. training opportunities designed to help
SBSS and Express Efficiency provide businesses increase the energy efficiency
rebates for the installation of both electric of their operations. These free seminars
and natural gas energy-efficiency are both informational and technical,
measures, including: covering topics such as lighting, HVAC,
food service and much more. Please call
1-800-613-8970 for more information or
check the seminar calendar at
www.sdge.com/training.

Please note: The energy and cost savings for individual restaurants will vary based upon operating conditions, equipment, personnel, building envelope, weather conditions and other factors. Safety is of
primary importance. Although San Diego Gas & Electric believes the recommended energy-efficiency measures will not impact food and operational safety under normal circumstances, restaurant opera-
tors should make certain that implementation of these or any other measures does not compromise the health and safety of customers or employees.

S A N D I EG O G A S & E L EC T R I C ®
P. O . B OX 1 2 9 8 3 1 , S A N D I EG O, C A 92 1 1 2- 9 8 3 1
© 2007 San Diego Gas & Electric Company. w w w. s d g e . c o m C Please recycle
All trademarks belong to their respective owners. All rights reserved. 0740003 0307