News 4

Restaurants are one of the most difficult building types to retro-fit for energy conservation primarily due to their high volume of activity and need for refrigerated food.

For sit down configurations (those that seat 20 or more customers) the mechanical system and refrigeration systems weigh heavily on energy consumption. From the building studied almost all had inefficient insulation envelopes and had exposed areas that introduced predictable thermal collection points within the building. Both contributing to the high electrical usage from the HVAC system. In addition, the frequency in which workers open and closed refrigeration systems also played a key role in energy waste, thus employee training on energy conservation principles and management should be addressed. Human behavior could account for 25% of electrical usage in the establishment.

Areas of concern:

Insulation Package (Especially for Dine-In facilities)

Increasing the insulation envelope is not cost effective for retro-fitting on an existing building unless the building is scheduled to be remodeled. So addressing the insulation envelope is most likely not an option for energy conservation. Some common practices such as shading devices- natural and unnatural can be used to some success in reducing thermal absorption for little to no cost at all, but they do little overall.

Refrigeration Equipment

Refrigeration systems consume large amounts of electrical energy and will have to be addressed with a renewable energy production system. (Wind, Solar, Hybrid, Parabolic).

Human behavior

Employee training will assist in reducing energy loss if employees are trained to shut off systems not being used and (most importantly) close refrigeration doors when entering and exiting.

Passive Strategies

Since most building were not designed with orientations that optimize performance and are otherwise not passively configured, some success has been noted in the retro-fitting of awnings and other shading devices up to and including natural vegetation design solutions.

Renewable Energy Production

The most important system, however is the renewable energy production system. Wind Turbines have the greatest effect in producing usable energy production, they are not always feasible due to local codes and the overall intrusiveness in to the environment around the building which 99% of the time is located deep within a city. They also require regular maintenance and upkeep and when factored in; really do not add any long term solutions for a sustainable renewable energy system. Photovoltaic systems have proven more reliable, especially in regards to building designs with flat roof and where the panels can be orientated and tilted to take full advantage of solar light. They are expensive when considering the amount of panels required to supplement energy consumption of the building. They are extremely sensitive to shading and if other taller buildings over a course of a day cast a shadow or trees and when other objects disrupt their solar light collection- their effectiveness drops very quickly. Most systems in Texas cost around 12.75 per watt to install and they only convert 15% to 17% of the light that reaches them into electrical current. Not a cost effective solution for energy loads associated with commercial buildings. UDC has been experimenting with a parabolic system and have had some results. Experimentation with UDC natural convection system has also showed some degree of success and when used in conjunction with other sustainable strategies and it quickly becomes clear that it is possible to cut the electrical load of most restaurants by 50% to 80% with a small investment. Existing buildings with flat roofs are the best candidate and building orientation will increase energy production. The hybrid parabolic trough configuration is currently under development will soon will be ready for field installation. The parabolic system is made with “off the shelf” technology- designed and installed for maximum results. It will require some maintenance, but the maintenance cost and frequency is less than a typical mechanical system currently installed on almost all buildings. Restaurant owners wishing to reduce their monthly electrical expenditures and have flat roof buildings should will benefit the most from this low cost solution.

UDC has just completed twelve months of field research and case studies into the feasibility of retro-fitting existing restaurants and religious facilities and the results are promising.

With the uncertainty of markets causing all business owners to take a long hard look at where they can slash operation costs, it has become increasingly apparent that an cost effective operations architectural solution is long overdue. While each building is slightly different and must be assessed on a case by case basis. The results that have been gathered thus far for Religious facilities and restaurants show a lot potential. Studies are currently on-going concerning supermarkets, office buildings, educational facilities and hotels with results expected soon.

There is no one solution fixes all approach or “plug and Play solution that will allow every building to achieve energy efficiency, however specific common areas such as energy retention and conservation techniques and strategies have and are being currently developed by UDC for use in new and existing buildings.

From the data that has been collected from case studies, we are confident that we can retrofit existing buildings and reduce electrical consumption by at least 50%. New buildings designed and configured by our staff can easily reach 50% to 80% reduction or greater in electrical consumption for less. Please contact us today for more information and pricing at ZEB@udcinc.org