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NEEN FACT SHEET
Energy Efficiency:
Catering, Refrigeration
and Laundry
Catering, refrigeration and laundry facilities can consume significant
amounts of energy, particularly through water heating and the
operation of electrical appliances. This fact sheet covers key
information and tips for how to reduce energy consumption in your
catering, refrigeration and laundry facilities.
Why Focus on Catering,
Refrigeration and Laundry?
Efficiency Opportunities
Refrigeration and Cool Rooms
Catering, refrigeration and laundry can consume significant
amounts of energy. Focusing on energy efficiency in
these areas can reduce your energy bill and reduce your
environmental impact.
Figure 1. Business benefits from energy efficiency
•
Ensure refrigerators and heat exchangers are not in direct
sunlight and add shading if necessary.
•
Have temperature gauges and thermostats calibrated to
ensure the cooled space is kept at the correct temperature.
•
Where safe and practical, reduce the temperature of
products before they are placed in storage.
•
Organise restocking to minimise the number of times the
cool room or fridge is opened.
•
Inspect your seals, insulation and door alignment regularly.
•
Insulate any exposed coolant pipes.
•
Inspect and clean heat exchangers regularly.
•
Put non-perishable drinks in a separate fridge which is
turned off at night. A timer can be used so that energy
consumption is minimised while ensuring that drinks are
cold when required.
•
For larger refrigeration applications check out the Industrial
Refrigeration Best Practice Guide at www.sustainability.vic.
gov.au.
Energy Consumption
Energy consumers in catering, refrigeration and laundry
typically include lighting, heating and air-conditioning, water
heating, gas ovens and stove tops and operation of electrical
equipment (including electric ovens; microwaves; ventilation
and extraction fans; dishwashers; fridges, freezers and coolrooms; clothes dryers; washing machines and other small
appliances).
Most NFP organisations will have some basic level of
refrigeration, but generally it is not a major component of the
overall energy use. This is compared to aged care facilities and
retreat centres, where larger scale refrigeration and cool rooms
are required for storage of larger volumes of food. Energy use
associated with cooking and laundry also becomes significant
due to the large quantity and volume of centralised food prep
and cleaning associated with these facilities.
NEEN
Catering and Kitchens
•
Use gas as primary energy source for stove top cooking
as it is generally cheaper and provides better temperature
control when cooking.
•
When boiling or steaming, use the minimum amount of
water necessary.
•
Use a hotplate the same diameter as the saucepan to
ensure heat is not wasted around the sides.
•
Use saucepans with clean, flat bases to ensure good
contact between the saucepan and hotplate to allow better
heat transfer.
www.neen.org.au
April 2015
•
Put lids on pots to prevent the escape of steam and heat.
•
Cook multiple dishes in the oven at once, or use stacking
pots steamers over a single hotplate.
•
Use the microwave instead of the oven where possible as
microwaves are more efficient than conventional ovens.
•
Keep cooking equipment clean and properly maintained
including vents, seals, hinges and catches.
•
Ensure ventilation, range-hoods, extraction fans and
ducting are clean and unobstructed.
•
Ensure dishwashers are properly turned off after use and
not left on standby, as some dishwashers continue to heat
water while on standby wasting considerable energy.
•
Use cold water to wash hands. Heating water requires
considerable energy and cold water is just as effective
as hot water at removing bacteria if hands are properly
scrubbed, rinsed and dried.
Laundry
•
Hang clothes to dry outside to make use of the sun’s
natural energy rather than using the dryer.
•
Use eco wash and dry cycles if available on your washing
machine/dryer.
•
Consolidate washing into fewer full loads rather than many
smaller loads.
•
Run cold washes rather than hot washes when possible.
Separate items that need to be hot washed and wash them
separately.
•
Insulate hot water pipes and cylinders to prevent heat from
escaping.
•
Ensure that your hot water temperature is set correctly and
your thermostat is calibrated regularly.
•
Before using a clothes dryer, spin clothes thoroughly and
ensure the lint filter is clean.
•
Don’t over dry clothes as this wastes energy and can
damage the clothes. Using the moisture sensor rather than
a timer can save up to 15%.
•
Check to ensure that dryer exhaust ducting and grills are
clean and free of obstructions.
•
Run consecutive drying loads immediately to take
advantage of heat remaining in the dryer.
•
Wash or dry clothes at off-peak times to reduce peak
loads on the electricity network (timers can be used to
set washing/drying cycles to run during the night). This is
especially worthwhile if you pay different peak and offpeak electricity rates.
Low flow taps
Installation of low flow hot water taps can result in a reduced
demand for hot water, which means a reduced need for hot
water to be generated. Note that these are only applicable for
hand washing taps - low flow is not applicable to laundry sinks
that need to be filled to a required level.
NEEN
Buy Efficient
When buying new electronic equipment such
as fridges, dishwashers, washing machines and
dryers, check the expected energy consumption
and look for the Energy Rating sticker. Equipment
with more stars on the Energy Rating scale
will consume less electricity. You can compare
equipment models and expected energy costs at
www.energyrating.gov.au/.
Lighting
There are many opportunities to reduce lighting energy
consumption. This can be as easy as switching lights off where
possible and appropriate, or a simple swap of the light globe
from an inefficient Incandescent globe to a CFL, or swapping
a halogen downlight for a new LED light. These are straight
swaps and don’t require any electrical wiring knowledge.
See the NEEN Lighting fact sheet for more information.
Heating, Ventilation and Cooling (HVAC)
Heating and cooling in smaller buildings can cover a lot
of equipment, but in the NFP sector, these are most likely
to be individual units (heating and/or air conditioning)
or locally controlled systems. If you have a number of
individual heaters and coolers/air conditioners, it may be
worthwhile replacing these with split reverse cycle air
conditioning units. Due to the properties of the refrigerant
gas, these can provide much more energy efficient heating
and cooling. If the site has relatively low humidity levels,
then an evaporative cooling unit can be just as effective as
a refrigerated air conditioner, but with much lower running
costs. In addition to this, a variety of opportunities to reduce
operating costs are covered in the NEEN HVAC fact sheet.
Metering / Monitoring
Submetering and monitoring allows organisations to better
understand how they use their energy throughout the
course of a day. At some sites that pay a peak electricity
rate for the weekday afternoon, submetering may reveal
opportunities to perform activities before or after peak
period when electricity prices are much cheaper. Refer to
the NEEN Monitoring fact sheet.
Alternative Energy Sources
Solar Hot Water
Solar water heating is one of the most energy-efficient means
of heating water. This is where
the water is pumped through
coils which are heated by the sun,
before being stored in a storage
cylinder (all of which is generally
situated on the property roof).
Booster heat is typically used to raise this water to the required
temperature (e.g. on cloudy days or at night). Gas boosting
should be used in preference to electric boosting where this is
available. Solar hot-water systems can also attract Smallscale
Technology Certificates – which can be sold for cash,
www.neen.org.au
April 2015
effectively meaning that the capital cost to install these systems
is greatly reduced.
Ground Source Heat Pumps
Ground source heat pumps are a very efficient way of providing
space heating/cooling or producing hot water. The systems use
loops of pipe buried in the ground to collect stored solar energy
(for heating) or to dissipate heat (for cooling). Ground source
heat pumps require electricity to function and the up-front
costs can be high, but the operating costs are much lower than
conventional heating/cooling systems, and the savings can be
about 70% compared to traditional electric hot water.
Useful links, Where to next?
Green Hotelier
Energy Efficiency in the Kitchen
http://www.greenhotelier.org/our-themes/
energy-efficiency-in-the-kitchen/
REFERENCES:
National Geographic - Washing Hands in Hot Water Wastes Energy.
Accessed 20/2/2014 at http://news.nationalgeographic.com.au/news/
energy/2013/12/131213-washing-hands-hot-water-wastes-energy-health/
Apartment Therapy - Choosing a Clothes Dryer: Gas vs Electric.
Accessed 20/2/2014 at http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/choosingaclothes-dryergas-v-145930
Solar power (Photovoltaic)
Australia is blessed with an abundance of sunlight (in most
states). Solar panels can convert this sunlight into electricity.
This electricity can then be used
to run electric appliances such
as fridges, washing machines
and dryers. Refer to the NEEN
Solar PV fact sheet for more
information.
for further information
NEEN – National Energy Efficiency Network
NEEN is a national initiative
to promote open learning
and collaboration amongst
faith-based and not-for-profit
community organisations, with
the aim of increasing energy
efficiency & establishing a
positive energy future for
the sector.
What makes the NEEN
initiative so powerful?
NEEN provides small to medium
sized community organisations
with the resources to reduce
energy consumption and the
opportunity to connect and
collaborate on a range of
initiatives that foster a resilient,
sustainable future for the not-forprofit sector and the communities
they serve.
An Open Invitation
No matter where you are on
your journey to achieve your
sustainability goals, you’re
welcome to join the NEEN
community. Make the connection
and discover a better energy
future for your organisation.
Acknowledgements
This project was funded by the Australian Government – Dept of Industry – Energy
Efficiency Information Grant Program. The Level 1 Energy audits and opportunities
assessments were carried out by Energetics on behalf of the NEEN program.
Disclaimer
The information contained in this document is of a general nature only and does
not constitute personal financial product advice. In preparing the advice no account
was taken of the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person.
Therefore, before making any decision, readers should seek professional advice
from a professional adviser to help you consider the appropriateness of the advice
with regard to your particular objectives, financial situation and needs.
Government Disclaimer
This Activity received funding from the Department of Industry as part of the
Energy Efficiency Information Grants Program. The views expressed herein are not
necessarily the views of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Commonwealth
does not accept responsibility for any information or advice contained herein.
Connect, discover, collaborate, transform
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www.neen.org.au
April 2015