Energy benchmarking in UK commercial kitchens

Abstract

Commercial kitchens are some of the most profligate users of gas and electricity in the UK and can leave a large carbon footprint. Categorising these types of establishments is challenging. New datasets of pub and restaurant energy performance metrics are presented. A preliminary study analyses annual electricity use data from automated meter readings from a large UK operator for the purpose of benchmarking and discusses it in terms of factors such as premises size and food output. The study finds that currently published benchmarks require updating. A wider subsequent study then applies the most useful benchmarking methodology to the majority of the UK’s managed pub and restaurant estate. From the analysed results, consumption is found to be much larger than previous sector estimates; 7.52 TWh compared with 0.02 TWh per year. Recommendations are made to further improve the current benchmarks in order to attain robust, reliable and transparent figures, such as the introduction of performance indicators to include number of meals, kitchen size (m²) and kWh per pound turnover. A new universal energy use benchmark of 0.37 kWh/£(turnover) is established for commercial kitchens.

Practical application: The methods and results outlined in this publication enable operators within the hospitality sector to compare their energy efficiency against the wider sector and understand how and where to improve their energy performance. The results allow building service engineers and designers at the design phase of new builds to take more accurate account of the projected energy use of the premises in its use phase by using more modern and relevant benchmarks. This in turn should assist in reducing the current performance gap. A modern and large sample size is used in forming the benchmarks, making this work very applicable to modern industrial practice.