From coast to coast, the mercury is steadily rising as we approach the hottest months of the year.  When the heat is on, that means higher refrigeration bills – and greater potential for problems with your commercial refrigeration units.

Make sure your kitchen is ready to take the heat this season!  Use these maintenance tips to optimize the efficiency of your refrigeration units and save on utilities:

• Identify and minimize parasitic loads.  Parasitic loads come from heat sources inside the refrigeration room, such as interior lights, fans, defrost systems and heaters that prevent surface condensation.  They generate heat that must be removed by the compressor, thus adding to the cooling load and increasing the energy consumed.  If you can afford it, consider investing in high-efficiency refrigeration compressors, condenser/evaporator fan motors, and/or energy efficient lighting to reduce energy consumption and reduce cooling loads on the compressor.
• Clean condenser and evaporator coils.  This one seems obvious, but not everyone does it.  Cleaning the coils allows air to pass over them and disperse heat.  When coils are blocked with dust and dirt, your unit has to work much harder (and consume more electricity) to keep things cool.
• Replace worn-out door gaskets.  Check to make sure your refrigerator door gaskets form tight seals when your refrigerators’ doors are closed – keeping cool air in and hot air out.  If gaskets are worn or torn, they’ll cost you extra money in utilities and can become a breeding ground for bacteria.
• Accessorize your walk-in.  An automatic door closer will quickly shut the door after someone enters or leaves.  Strip curtains provide an added layer of insulation and will dramatically reduce the amount of cool air loss.  Finally, installing a high-quality door latch will ensure the gaskets seal properly each time the door is opened.

You may be surprised at how much overhead you can eliminate by following these simple suggestions.  And if you want to reduce labor overhead, give Penguin Staff a call.  Our full complement of strategic hospitality staffing services ensure you have the trained professionals you need, right when you need them.

Penguin’s hospitality workforce solutions lower your overhead by keeping only essential full-time staff on hand, and allowing us to manage things like: