jerkylips
Basic Member
Posts:359
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| 07 Mar 2011 10:11 AM |
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ok, here's a random, hypothetical question. For some reason I was thinking back to my youth, remembering all of the restaurants I worked in while I was in school. I realized that in the kitchens, everything was basically all on. Convection ovens, deep fryers, flat top were always on from open to close. And the kitchens were always HOT, with massive ventilation systems running all the time. Now I'm thinking, what a waste! All of the energy wasted, all of the heat produced, just going out the vents. Has anyone thought about a way to design a restaurant/kitchen that can recover some of that heat?
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Alton
Veteran Member
Posts:2164
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| 07 Mar 2011 10:49 AM |
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In cold regions I think heat pipes in the exhaust systems would really save a lot of energy that could be used to heat the dining area. |
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Construction Technology Consultant -- E-mail: Alton at Auburn dot Edu Use email format with @ and period .
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Dana1
Senior Member
Posts:6991
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| 07 Mar 2011 11:58 AM |
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The exhaust air of commercial kitchen hoods has a lot of grease that would accumulate on the heat exhanger limiting effectiveness, so it would have to either have an automated cleaning system or a frequent maintenance schedule to both stay effective and not present a fire-hazard.
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cmkavala
Veteran Member
Posts:4327
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| 07 Mar 2011 02:07 PM |
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It is also a loss in airconditioned kitchens as well, fire safety overrides any and all energy efficiency issues.
j |
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| Chris Kavala<br>[email protected]<br>1-877-321-SIPS<br /> |
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acwizard
Basic Member
Posts:265
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| 07 Mar 2011 02:59 PM |
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The Melink systems are a great approach to reducing energy from hood exhaust. DOAS systems are replacing supply fans and improving energy usage in commeial kitchens. |
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pondpro
New Member
Posts:31
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| 08 Mar 2011 07:43 AM |
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You will be surprised to listen that I still have the exact design in my home and I am happy with it. :D |
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jerkylips
Basic Member
Posts:359
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| 08 Mar 2011 05:48 PM |
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my first thought was to recover heat going out the hoods, but thought the same things about fire safety, maintenance, etc. I was thinking about something like a heat pump water heater to pull heat out of the kitchen & re-use, but I don't know how effective that would be. Maybe if it could be sized appropriately, something along those lines feeding radiant floor heating in another part of the building? |
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Alton
Veteran Member
Posts:2164
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| 08 Mar 2011 06:05 PM |
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Regarding the grease in the exhaust air making it unfit to rob the heat, would a hood grease filter clean up the exhaust air enough that one could utilize the wasted heat. |
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Residential Designer &
Construction Technology Consultant -- E-mail: Alton at Auburn dot Edu Use email format with @ and period .
334 826-3979 |
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MountainStone
New Member
Posts:12
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| 08 Mar 2011 07:31 PM |
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Since your question is about how to DESIGN a kitchen/restaurant to recover some of that heat:
My favorite restaurant is an Italian/Mediterranean place owned by the resident chef. The space is designed with no seperation at all between the kitchen and the eating space, other than a counter that runs the width of the building. All of the ovens, grills, cooktops, prep stations, etc. are in full view of the raised dining room if one chooses to look. Obviously everything is high-quality stainless equipment, constantly and scrupulously cleaned and the 'centerpiece' is a large, beautifully tiled wood-fired pizza oven. The dining room and kitchen are the same temperature, though I honestly never thought about the savings realized until reading your post. We love being able to watch the food being prepared, and I bet the cooks love the moderate temps while the chef/owner loves his lower heating bill.
Obviously implementing such a strategy requires an attractive kitchen and hiring a staff dedicated to keeping it clean, but it strikes me as a simple and elegant solution that serves more than one purpose (like I said, we enjoy seeing the chef at work). |
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Dana1
Senior Member
Posts:6991
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| 09 Mar 2011 05:15 PM |
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You'd also need more attractive kitchen staff, who are willing and able to take their fights outside rather than cursing like sailors and waving knives at each other, eh? ;-)
Of course, cooler temps might keep the staff from getting so steamed under pressure in the first place. |
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jerkylips
Basic Member
Posts:359
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| 09 Mar 2011 05:31 PM |
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Posted By Dana1 on 09 Mar 2011 05:15 PM
You'd also need more attractive kitchen staff, who are willing and able to take their fights outside rather than cursing like sailors and waving knives at each other, eh? ;-)
Of course, cooler temps might keep the staff from getting so steamed under pressure in the first place. are you kidding? I'd pay EXTRA to see the cursing & knife-waving! |
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Dana1
Senior Member
Posts:6991
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| 09 Mar 2011 05:34 PM |
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I should have you over for dinner sometime then! |
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acwizard
Basic Member
Posts:265
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| 10 Mar 2011 02:25 AM |
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Posted By Alton on 08 Mar 2011 06:05 PM
Regarding the grease in the exhaust air making it unfit to rob the heat, would a hood grease filter clean up the exhaust air enough that one could utilize the wasted heat. The grease laden air would have to pass thru a electrostatic precipitator and then it could be passed thru an enthalpy wheel or heat pipes to recover exhausted energy. The downside is it takes more fan energy to over come the pressure drop thru these types of products. . |
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siddle
New Member
Posts:28
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| 05 Apr 2011 04:36 PM |
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Martin Air Systems, which is a Toronto based company has developed a technique for securing waste heat from kitchens in restaurants and recycling it to help heat up the entire restaurant and even its incoming municipal water.
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JeffD
Basic Member
Posts:282
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| 06 Apr 2011 10:16 AM |
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I have head of walk in coolers that use the outside air in winter to cool their interior. This seems like an excellent energy saving idea. |
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Chloe Taylor
New Member
Posts:89
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| 10 Jun 2011 03:52 AM |
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Posted By Alton on 07 Mar 2011 10:49 AM
In cold regions I think heat pipes in the exhaust systems would really save a lot of energy that could be used to heat the dining area.
Would definately agree with you.... in going for and using heat pipes for for exhaust in cold regions would definately help in saving a lot of precious energy..... |
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