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What is a Green KitchenSM Design?
Green or sustainable design is well suited to commercial kitchen applications. The two main applicable areas are energy conservation and air pollution reduction. A green kitchen is one that has been designed using the most advanced and UL approved ventilation and/or pollution control equipment available. Energy consumption is a major operating expense for restaurants. Anyone can manufacture a hood, exhaust 100 CFM per square foot of hood area and call it a kitchen exhaust system. However, by paying careful attention to the selection and arrangement of food cooking equipment that is required, the amount of air exhausted may be minimally optimized. The hood will still be UL approved and remove cooking effluents efficiently. As the quantity of CFM is successfully reduced a lot of wonderful things happen. Energy is saved in a number of ways. First and by far the greatest savings are by having to temper the replacement or make-up air. Second, often a smaller horsepower fan may be selected saving both initial and operating costs. . Third, is if a pollution reduction strategy is adapted, either at the hood or prior to exhausting out of the building, less exhausted air requires literally smaller pollution control units and save in both initial costs and maintenance costs
A green kitchen also is concerned with removing more grease from the exhaust air stream, in the form of vapor and particulate, prior to its discharge to the atmosphere. This is important from a sustainable designs as well as good neighborly relations. Further, it often is very cost effective, when compared to scaling a high-rise in code-mandated 10 gauge black iron. This grease removal may be done inside the hood, prior to discharge or both. A number of technologies exist, some more efficient than others. Additional aspects of a kitchen that lend themselves to sustainable design are reduced exhaust volumes when cooking is not occurring, potential heat recovery (for large kitchens), lighting used in hoods and the actual energy consumption of appliances under the hood. Some additional areas that could be considered green are using water as a fire suppressant instead of halon and selecting energy star rated cooking equipment and technically advanced equipment.
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