08 Jul 09 5 Ways To Help The Environment You Hadn’t Thought Of

There are plenty of ways to be more environmentally friendly without really changing your lifestyle in a way that will affect your daily routine in any sort of negative way. In fact there are plenty of ways to be much more environmentally friendly, that are also fairly easy to accommodate, that you probably haven’t even thought about. And here are five tips that you may not have considered that will bring you five steps closer to reversing that carbon footprint you’re leaving behind:

Eat a meatless meal at least once a week.
Unplug chargers when not in use.
Don’t preheat your stove.
Read the news online, opposed to buying a newspaper or magazine.
Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.

If you’re a meat eater, one thing you probably don’t realize is that meat exhausts a massive amount of resources to maintain and produce. From feeding/transporting the animals, to processing their carcasses, a lot of irreplaceable fossil fuels are exhausted, not to mention carbon emissions are released into the environment. Fruits and Vegetables cause far fewer resources to be exhausted in route to you at the grocery store. I’m not saying go vegetarian, but just cut it down a little bit. You’ll be healthier, and the environment will become a little bit more healthy with you.

Your charger for your cell phone, or any other portable device, will continue to draw power when plugged in to a wall socket, whether your device is present or not. This wastes energy, and also costs you more money on your electricity bill, for absolutely no reason. So save some green, and help yourself go green by unplugging any charger that isn’t currently in use.

When cooking a meal that will take over an hour in a stove to cook, don’t preheat your oven. The preheat time will only waste energy that doesn’t need to be consumed through a preheat process. Something like a roast doesn’t need a preheating process beforehand, and you’ll save energy this way. Also you can turn your oven off ten minutes prior to the meal’s cooking time ends, and the heat will remain to cook the food, but you will be consuming a little bit less energy by shutting the stove off early.

Newspapers and magazines are recyclable, but the problem is that very few people dispose of them in the proper fashion, so most newspapers and magazines just end up as more trash polluting our world. Instead cut down on the amount of trash, as well as the resources consumed to produce them, by just reading the same articles and news online via the internet instead.

Compact bulbs might be more expensive at the store, but they use 75% less energy than conventional light bulbs, and they last 10 times longer, making the energy savings alone worth the price. Plus it will actually save you more money in the long run. And Mother Earth will thank you for your efforts to conserve power.

Tags: Carbon Emissions, Carbon Footprint, Carcasses, cell phone, Chargers, Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs, Daily Routine, Electricity Bill, Five Steps, Fluorescent Light Bulbs, Fossil Fuels, Fruits And Vegetables, Fruits Vegetables, Grocery Store, Lifestyle, Little Bit, Meat Eater, Meatless Meal, Wall Socket, Ways To Help The Environment

Filed in Go Green with 0 Comments

07 Jan 09 Restaurant Equipment Service and Preventative Maintenance Tips

Here in the Jean’s Restaurant Supply Service Department, we have compilied a list of service and preventative maintenance tips to help your restaurant succeed in it’s business venture. Your heating, cooling, cooking and food preparation equipment is a huge investment that should be kept in good, clean, operational order.

Commercial Ovens:

Wipe out spills from your oven cavity daily- this will cut down on rust and corrosion in the oven cavity, while also reducing the possibility of fire hazards.

Walk-In Coolers and Freezers:

Keep the doors closed when not in use- if doors are left open for any extended amount of time, ice can quickly build-up on the evaporator coils and cause cooling problems. Keeping doors closed will help cut down on any unnecessary service calls.

If doors must remain open, consider adding an Air Curtain or Air Door to the doorways. Ask one of our sales representatives about energy-saving Air Curtains and Air Doors.

Steam Tables/Warmer Wells:

Some units require the heating element be immersed in water at all times. It is important that the water level in the well never drops to a level where the immersible element is exposed, as this can cause premature failure.

Keep the heating elements clean and free of any mineral build-up as this can also decrease the life of your equipment.

Air Conditioning/Heating System:

Have your Air Conditioner Filters changed or cleaned monthly. This will help save immensely on your electricity bill, as air conditioning can be a considerable percentage of your electric bill (20-30%).

Be sure to get your Air Conditioning/Heating system checked by a qualified professional at least twice yearly, to be sure both the Heat and Cool cycles are operating safely and efficiently.

Condenser Coils:

Keep condenser coils clean on all refrigeration equipment, such as: ice-making equipment, refrigerators, freezers, salad coolers, air conditioning units, etc…

Keeping condenser coils clean and free from dust and grease will help prevent breakdowns and costly repair bills, and will also save on electricity.

Dust can usually be brushed of the coils or blown off with compressed air. Grease build-up sometimes requires a service company to clean it thoroughly with a coil cleaning solution.

Ice Machines:

Ice machines are one of the most important pieces of equipment in your restaurant/bar. Keeping it clean will make it run better, it will make more ice, and it will cause less wear and tear on component parts, therefore saving money on electricity, as well as excessive repair costs.

Let us keep your ice machine in good working order with a high-quality, properly installed water filtration system. Change those water filters every 3-6 months. Both of these suggestions will help extend the life of your ice machine, cut down on costly repairs, and finally, make cleaner, better tasting ice for your customers.

Ice-making equipment must be properly sized for your particular establishment’s needs. Here at Jean’s Restaurant Supply, we can analyze the size, seating capacity, and expectations of your business, so that we can suggest the proper size ice machine for your establishment.

Ventilation/Exhaust Hoods:

Keeping clean air filters in your exhaust hoods will keep them working more efficiently, the motors running cooler and with less stress and strain, therefore extending the life of the motors and belts.

Have your exhaust hood and fresh air fans checked quarterly for proper operation and belt tension, which allows for peak performance.

As one of the only privately owned, independent manufacturers of Commercial Exhaust Hoods in Texas, we, at Jean’s Restaurant Supply, are proud to be able to custom-build and install quality stainless steel exhaust hoods to meet your restaurant’s exact needs and specifications.
Failing to do any preventative maintenance on your restaurant equipment or allowing things to go until they break, ends up in more costly repairs and/or replacement.

Rusty Chapman is the Service Manager at Jean’s Restaurant Supply and is a thirty year veteran of the restaurant equipment service industry. He is a factory authorized service technician for many commercial restaurant equipment manufacturers. He can be reached at 800-840-3610 Monday through Friday from 8 am to 6 pm, Central Standard Time and on Saturday from 9 am to 3 pm Central Standard Time. Or check us out on the web at http://www.jeansrestaurantsupply.com/.

Tags: Air Conditioning Units, Air Curtain, Air Curtains, Air Doors, Commercial Ovens, Condenser Coils, Electricity Bill, Fire Hazards, Food Preparation Equipment, Heating Element, Heating Elements, Maintenance Tips, Oven Cavity, Premature Failure, Preventative Maintenance, Refrigeration Equipment, Refrigerators Freezers, Steam Tables, Time Ice, Unnecessary Service

Filed in Restaurant Equipment with 0 Comments

08 Jul 09 5 Ways To Help The Environment You Hadn’t Thought Of

07 Jan 09 Restaurant Equipment Service and Preventative Maintenance Tips

Translator

Recent Posts

Blogroll

Categories

Gossimer Press Releases

Gossimer News