A Focus on Energy Efficiency

We're living in a world of growing environmental concern. It's not just the individual conservationist trying to save the planet anymore; businesses of all sizes are becoming more eco-conscious. The green movement is gaining momentum and if you haven't begun considering long term sustainability solutions, now's the time.

But what does it even mean to 'Go Green'? Understanding the concept can be difficult, and developing and enacting a plan can be downright daunting. Luckily there's one area where bakery operators can make a clear and immediate impact: energy efficiency. Assessing and addressing your businesses' energy consumption will not only benefit the environment but you as well. The less energy and fewer resources your equipment uses the less money you spend - and that's always a good for your bottom line!

ENERGY EFFICIENT DECK OVENS

In general, the equipment with the greatest potential for energy savings in your bakery today is your oven. Highly efficient Vapor Tube Stone Hearth Deck Ovens can boast a fuel consumption savings of 60% to 75% over traditional revolving tray ovens. This is accomplished, in part, with a firebox made entirely out of oven brick and by encasing the Vapor Tube heat distribution system in poured cement. This gives the oven the ability to retain tremendous amounts of heat so that when the burner shuts down the oven can continue to provide an even temperature. This residual heat allows the burner to fire less often resulting in a significant fuel savings.

NOT JUST FUEL EFFICIENCY

When replacing that old revolving tray oven with a newer Vapor Tube Deck Oven, you'll experience more than just significant fuel savings. Modern Stone Hearth Deck Ovens utilize 3-phase electric allowing them to use far more efficient exhaust systems than their single phase counterparts. In addition, the lack of rotating trays means one less motor to power altogether, which translates to a significant electrical savings.

Water consumption is also an energy efficiency concern. A quality Stone Hearth Deck Ovens that utilize a self-contained steam system is able to maintain a 99% steam retention rate - far greater than that of an oven utilizing a traditional remote boiler system. These remote systems tend to purge condensed steam frequently consuming both more water and fuel - a highly inefficient process.

EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGIES

Emerging and evolving technologies also play a role in the green movement of the modern day. As an example, Vapor Tube Technology may be of particular interest to the energy conscious baker. In a Vapor Tube oven, a single indirect burner heats the sealed vapor tubes turning the contained water into steam. The steam then circulates through the tubes by natural thermodynamics, radiating its heat evenly before condensing back into water and circulating back to the heating camber. These Vapor Tubes deliver heat evenly throughout the baking zone with no fans or moving parts necessary to distribute the heat. This provides consistent quality from front-to-back, side-to-side and deck-to-deck with no damper or airflow adjustments.

COST EFFICIENCY

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to environmentally friendly initiatives is perceived cost. For some businesses, the price tag on a brand new Deck Oven can be intimidating. The key to going green however is considering long term sustainability over the short term impact. What will you return on investment be 1, 5 and 10 years from now? How will those energy savings help you both now and into the future? Crunch those numbers and compare your financing options to your expected energy savings. You may find that you can actually save more in energy costs than the lease payment itself, allowing you to actually return money to your bottom line!

'Going Green' does not have to feel like an overwhelming undertaking. As you can see from our example, selecting the right energy efficient equipment can provide significant savings to both the environment and your pocket! If you have questions or just don't know where to start talk to a trusted equipment supplier. They can help you investigate an energy efficiency program that will not only help you 'Go Green', it will also help you save green!