Ways to Increase Your Restaurant Equipment Efficiency

Increasing restaurant equipment efficiency is good for your wallet as a business owner. It is especially important to consider during periods of economic stress. It can help you avoid layoffs or make up for the lost revenue by making more sales.

When it comes down to it, any headache your restaurant might experience today will be multiplied tomorrow without intervention. That's why you need to make sure that your restaurant is as efficient as possible, and there are several ways to go about making this happen.

Without efficient restaurant equipment, you waste time and money on repairs and replacement costs. Here's some insight into how to increase your restaurant equipment efficiency.

1. Buy energy-efficient equipment.

 You can't increase equipment efficiency unless you have a system to start with. That means you need the right tools for the job. Look for energy-efficient equipment. It has a high-efficiency rating and uses natural gas or fluorescent lights instead of incandescent ones, saving you money on your monthly utility bills.

2. Turn off unused equipment.

Most restaurant owners know that they shouldn't waste energy. However, it's easy to become complacent. Turn off all the equipment in your restaurant when it is not being used, whether you are finishing your last customer of the night or closed on Sundays.

3. Use timers to regulate equipment use.

When you install time clocks for different pieces of equipment throughout your building, you can control when they go on and off efficiently.

For instance, if you need your refrigerator running constantly at a certain temperature overnight, but no one is there to monitor it until morning, install a timer on the appliance. It will turn itself off after eight hours of continuous operation during the night and then turn itself back on in time for opening in the morning, cutting down on wasted energy and maximizing equipment use.

4. Clean regularly to prevent fire hazards.

You should clean your kitchen regularly, anyway—all it takes is about half an hour of effort at the end of every day. Employees can mop floors, wipe down walls and clean up spills or leaky appliances while avoiding expensive repairs down the road.

5. Reduce water waste with low-flow faucets and toilets.

On average, commercial kitchens use 3,000-7,000 gallons of water per day total, so decreasing your consumption even by a little bit helps conserve resources for everyone's sake. Low-flow faucets reduce water usage and maintenance costs because they don't need to be replaced as often.

6. Reduce food waste with portion control equipment.

Reducing food waste with portion control equipment means investing in scales, steam tables and other measurement tools that help your employees ensure they're getting the right amount of ingredients out every time.

Nobody wants to throw away bread or cheese at the end of a night because someone guessed wrong on how much food to prepare for dinner-time. However, if you do need to toss anything, it's still better than throwing away an entire tray of something because it went bad before you could use it up.

7. Keep hot food hot.

There is a big difference between keeping food at the right temperature and keeping it hot. Many restaurants have equipment that only heats food, even if they also have ovens, which can be a major drain on energy costs. Invest in heat trays, heating lamps and other tools that will keep your food consistently warm without adding to your overall utility bill.

8. Keep cold food cold.

Cold food will only save you money if it stays cold! Invest in an ice machine to keep your late-night salads and desserts chilled until they're ready to be served. You can also keep cold food cold with ice packs or small freezers or fridges under your counters.

If you’re ready to buy energy efficient restaurant equipment, consider Texas Restaurant Supply today.