Solar Hot Water - Food Service Applications • Earth Energy Innovations • Solar Installations Throughout Central PA

Solar Hot Water - Food Service Applications

The Challenge:

Hot water contributes significantly to the energy costs of operating a restaurant. At a rate of two to three gallons of hot water per meal served, food service facilities can use hundreds, if not thousands of gallons of high temperature hot water per day. Thus, a restaurant that serves 500 meals per day over a six day per week schedule and consumes an average of 2.5 gallons of hot water per meal will use 390,000 gallons of hot water per year, at an energy cost of $3,500 to $10,000.
In addition to their cost, traditional energy sources such as electricity and fossil fuels contribute to the ongoing problem of greenhouse gas emissions and environmental concerns raised by the harvesting procedures used to obtain the fuels themselves.

What If:

What if a restaurant could invest in technology that not only reduced their environmental impact but also enabled them to lock in water heating costs at competitive pricing for the next 20 years? Not to mention the marketing PR that would be generated through the installation of a visibly “green” infrastructure.

The Process:

Food Service facilities are increasingly turning to solar thermal technology to address their hot water heating requirements. Solar Thermal is capable of capturing two to three times the energy of its cousin technology, Solar Electric (PV), and evacuated-tube technology as installed by Earth Energy Innovations, (EEI) provides higher water temperatures and superior cold weather performance as compared to traditional flat-plate collector technology. Many times, a facility will have available roof space for the array, but if not, a ground mount could be considered.

The Solution:

While commonalities exist among all food service operations, each facility has its own specific equipment and procedures. At no cost to the restaurant, a qualified EEI professional will visit the restaurant and perform a site visit, verifying the actual equipment and facility characteristics as well as reviewing the operation’s energy costs over the past 12 months. Of special importance will be the current profile of energy sources as well as the efficiency of the water heating equipment. Once the site visit is completed, EEI will prepare a detailed Performance and Financial Analysis for the proposed project. At this point, the EEI representative will also propose a time line for the project.When both parties agree to the design, terms and costs, a contract is signed to engage EEI for a turn-key installation of the Solar Thermal system.

Case Study:

Country Fare Restaurant

Country Fare Restaurant, located in Myerstown, PA, is owned and operated by the Hoover family. Prior to the installation of a 10-collector Solar Thermal System, the restaurant relied solely on propane and electricity as the energy sources for their hot water heating.

A 10-collector evacuated-tube array was tastefully mounted on the restaurant’s south facing roof.The array feeds a 798-gallon storage tank.The closed loop system uses a non-toxic propylene glycol solution as the heat transfer liquid which circulates through the collectors and a heat exchanger inside the storage tank.

The Solar Thermal System will produce energy equivalent of 56,000 kWhrs, translating to almost 237,000 gallons of water heated annually with a life expectancy of 20 years!