Author: Lindsey Burbee

Intelli-Hood Restaurant Retrofit Case Study

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

CONTEXT

A popular national restaurant chain, which also is a leader in sustainability, adopted Melink’s patented Intelli­-Hood® HVAC controls package as an energy conservation measure. The company’s goal was to achieve a 60 percent reduction in exhaust fan energy across its 80 properties. Following is an excerpt from its 2016 Corporate Sustainability Report:

“We tested an innovative demand ventilation system at our restaurant in Pleasanton, CA, which automatically adjusts the exhaust and make up air fan speed by measuring the temperature, steam and smoke in the hood. By having the fan speed ramp up or down as needed, the amount of energy used compared to standard fans is significantly reduced by as high as 60 percent. We are now in the process of rolling out the system to approximately 120 locations, potentially reducing our energy use by as much as 63,000 kWh’s per location.”

RESULTS

Savings across the restaurant company’s portfolio have been impressive and exceeded expectations. Not only has the company enjoyed increased operating profit as a result of the 65 percent reduction in energy usage, but its utility bill has dropped by $702,240 annually since 2015.

Energy savings graphic

 

Below is a sample graph of the varying exhaust fan speed for one day at one location:

demand controlled ventilation

Could Intelli-Hood be a fit for my project?

Are you curious how much energy Intelli-Hood could save within your commercial or industrial kitchens?  Submit an energy savings estimate request form at the bottom of our Intelli-Hood page to get started.

 

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Purchasing an Electric Car

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

You may have noticed by my title – I’m senior accountant at Melink-  that I’m involved with finances. It’s in my nature to look for a good return on the money I invest in products and services. So, when I decided it was time to purchase my first electric vehicle (EV), I conducted a good amount of research.

I decided on a used 2013 Chevy Volt, and it has been everything I hoped. Being diligent in charging my Volt – at home and at work – I was even able to drive 3,000 miles on one tank of gasoline.

 

When considering an EV, the most important thing to determine is your realistic commute. That will help you weigh the pros and cons of the limitations of a pure electric car. Starting with a zero-charged battery, an EV (pure electric and gas backup models) will take anywhere from four to 22 hours to fully charge for a 40-200 mile range depending on the model and charger you select. Take it from me, invest in a 240V charger if you want the shortest charge time.

In the United States, there are about 20 models of mainstream EVs available for purchase.

Melink Corporation certified as a Great Place to Work

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CINCINNATI – Aug. 12, 2016 – Melink Corporation is now certified as a Great Place to Work.

The designation recently was awarded to the global provider of energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions by the Great Place to Work Institute.

 According to the research and consulting institute, 91 percent of Melink employees reported that their workplace is considered “great.”

“Becoming a Great Place to Work organization is one of our top strategic goals as a company,” said Steve Melink, founder and CEO. “It is very gratifying to know that 98 percent of our employees feel that management is honest and ethical in its business practices, and 97 percent have great pride in who we are and what we do. This allows us to attract and retain great talent and thereby provide great offerings to our customers. Excellence begets excellence.”

When asked by the Great Place to Work Institute to share examples of programs they feel capture Melink’s uniqueness, employees cited: 

  • Energy Efficiency Benefit: After completing one year of service with Melink, employees are eligible for up to a $5,000 contribution toward the purchase of a qualified hybrid vehicle, electric vehicle or solar photovoltaic system for their personal residence. 
  • Tuition Reimbursement: Melink supports employees who wish to continue their education to secure increased responsibility and growth within their professional careers. In keeping with this philosophy, the company has established a tuition reimbursement program for expenses incurred through approved institutions of learning. 
  • Company Provided Vehicle: Executive and director level employees are provided a company sponsored hybrid or electric vehicle. Melink pays for the lease, maintenance, gas and insurance.

To learn more about Melink Corporation, visit Melinkcorp.com or call 513.965.7300.

About Melink

Melink Corporation is a global provider of energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions for the commercial building industry, with four business offerings: HVAC Testing & Balancing, Intelli-Hood® Kitchen Ventilation Controls, Solar PV Development and Geothermal HVAC. For 30 years, the Cincinnati-based company has been helping organizations save energy, increase profits and make the world a more sustainable place. Melink’s corporate headquarters is LEED Platinum and Net-Zero Energy, and its vehicle fleet consists of all hybrid and electric cars.

Contact

Luci Feie

Marketing Manager, Melink Corporation

513-965-7300

A Balancing Act: Air Balance is an important part of HVAC maintenance

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

When it comes to HVAC, no news is good news for restaurant facility managers. When you start hearing chatter about the building being hot and humid, drafty, smoky or uncomfortable, you know a problem has already taken root. It’s like a piano being out of tune. In addition to unhappy customers and employees, comfort issues are indicators of energy inefficiency within a system and air balance issues. So, what can facility managers do to prevent comfort and energy threats?

Identifying Common Problems

“Facility managers need to be trained on air balance and push it to their service contractors,” recommends Jeff Dover, resource manager at RFMA.

A good place to start is to gain a foundational understanding of building pressure and common HVAC deficiencies along with following seven easy steps to bring your restaurant back into tune. Most importantly, learn how to look for negative building pressure. Remember, the goal is to stay slightly positive in building pressure.

There are three methods to identify negative building pressure. The first and most reactive method is to monitor signals that your building is negative. These signs are hot/cold spots, entry doors that are hard to open, poor smoke capture, humidity, condensation dripping from diffusers and drafts.
Second, you can measure the building pressure yourself or with the help of your service contractor by using a pressure reading tool such as an anemometer to get a ballpark pressure reading. The third and most accurate method is to hire an air balance firm to check the facility’s building balance once a year. If comfort-related issues or a negative building pressure reading are observed, then an air balance needs to be scheduled.

Investigating the Cause

What causes a building to become negative or unbalanced? The usual offenders are equipment deficiencies, improper preventative maintenance programs, and adjustment errors such as kitchen staff fiddling with thermostats or service contractors opening or closing dampers.

 Here are 10 example deficiencies you or your service contractors should be on the lookout for:
  1. Exhaust fans in poor condition
  1. Supply air leaking above ceiling
  1. OA dampers improperly installed
  1. Exhaust fans not sealed to curb or hinged correctly
  1. Dirty compartment/coil in the RTU
  1. Tops of diffuser not insulated
  1. Filters improperly sized for hoods
  1. MUA not operating properly
  1. Dirty indoor/outdoor filters
  1. Worn/broken belts

Achieving Air Balance in HVAC

Once you’re ready to bring a facility back into tune, there are seven easy steps to complete. These steps may be completed by the facility manager alone, but are more likely in partnership with a service contractor. To get started, pull out the facility’s previous balance report to use as a base line for data.

One Principal Engineer at a hamburger fast food chain overseeing thousands of locations explains how her team uses the air balance report to get started with troubleshooting comfort issues.

“The reports really are my first line of defense when someone says ‘Hey, my store is cold/hot/humid,’ she points out. “The first thing I do is pull out the TAB report and see what it says. I look at the punch list and ask was anything wrong? Not fixed? It helps when I have to remotely assess or diagnose problems.”

7 Steps to HVAC Balance

Whether the previous air balance report has been reviewed or not, proceed to the following steps:

  1. Ask the onsite restaurant managers what the complaints are from employees and customers.
  1. Turn on all HVAC equipment.
    • Verify thermostats are set to “FAN ON”
  1. Check building pressure with the flame test in different areas around the restaurant (Figure 3)
  1. Observe smoke capture
    • Is the hood in the correct overhang position?
    • Are there drafts along the cook line?
  1. Check for common comfort issues (hot/cold spots, entry doors that are hard to open, poor smoke capture, humidity, condensation dripping from diffusers and drafts).
  1. Inspect the equipment.
    • Are the filters clean?
    • Are the belts in good condition?
    • Are the exhaust fan wheels clean?
  1. Determine an intervention plan.
    • If some preventative maintenance actions and/or repairs need to happen, start with the service contractor.
    • If equipment is inoperable, have it repaired or replaced.
    1. If the preventative maintenance actions are in order and the problems persist, call in a certified air balance company that has experience with restaurants like yours.
Facility managers need to trust that their service contractors will notify them of airflow-related issues. Those technicians are out on the roofs and looking at the HVAC system components more than anyone else. If the restaurant has negative pressure or other out-of-tune symptoms, the service contractor needs to inform the facility manager right away. After all, you want your customers and employees to continue singing your praises. 
Air Balance in HVAC

Air Balance Basics for Existing Facilities

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

We understand the concept of the “band-aid approach” whereby you find a quick cover-up to a problem without actually investigating the root of the it.  This concept applies frequently to Facility Managers or Building Owners wrestling with HVAC emergencies being caused by negative building pressure. They tackle issues such as condensation, hot/cold spots, humidity, odor, and difficult to open doors with “band-aids”. These “band-aids” are in the form of increased air conditioning, dehumidifiers, wet floor caution signs, door mechanisms, air fresheners, apologizing to patrons, comping customers’ bills, and so on.  This is understandable when you’re managing 80+ facilities, all with problems that stretch far beyond just HVAC.  However, it comes with a cost of spending a lot of time, money, energy, and reputation just to have the issues continuing to come back.  While balanced airflow is not a tangible product, the consequences of an unbalanced building are very perceptible.

Facility Managers are ready to de-mystify their HVAC issues by understanding the root causes. Use the air balance basics below to recognize when an issue is airflow related.

 

What does it mean to have a balanced airflow?

Think of financial statements with income listed in one column and expenses in the other.  Much like a budget, you want incoming cash coming to be equal to or greater than cash going out. You typically want the air going into a building to be slightly greater than the air going out.  Similarly, think of a balanced scale.  In the graphic below, air is being drawn out of the building by exhaust fans at a rate of 4000 CFM (cubic feet per minute). This is to remove heat and smoke from kitchen cooking appliances and foul air from the restrooms. Air is also being introduced into the building through an outside air fan, at a rate of 4500 CFM. This is to provide fresh breathing air for the occupants and to replace the exhausted air.  The result is a slightly positive building pressure of 500 CFM (4500 – 4000 = 500), which signifies a balanced airflow.  Conversely, if air coming into the building is slightly less than the air leaving the building, then you have a negative building pressure, which is the frequent culprit of many HVAC problems.

Which brings us to a crucial pairing to the air balance concept.  That is if balanced airflow is peanut butter, then a performance test is the jelly.

 

What is an air test & balance service? 

Air balance testing is the process of measuring HVAC airflow performance.  Once tested, the systems are then adjusted, or balanced, so the air brought into a building is slightly greater than the air being pulled out of the building.  The benefit for testing and balancing being a combined service is explained by Rob Falke, President of the National Comfort Institute, “This [positive] pressure condition can be designed, but to be sure it actually happens requires air diagnostic testing.  However, it’s hard to say how great the positive pressure reading in the building will be. It depends on how tight (or leaky) the envelope of the building is, and what other pressure generating forces exist, including the wind, appliances, exhaust fans, and the stack effect of the building.”  The result is a comfortable, healthy indoor environment with an HVAC system that is optimized to perform efficiently.

 

 Sources:

  • Digital image. Air Concepts LLC. N.p., n.d. Web.  Nov 25, 2015.
  • Falke, Rob. “How to Measure Building Pressures.” Contracting Business, 1 May 2006. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.

Talking to Kitchen Staff About Restaurant Air Balance

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

Restaurant Air Balance: Avoiding Costly HVAC Issues

Regarding restaurant air balance, negative building pressure costs restaurant facility managers thousands of dollars every year. Uncomfortable kitchen staff — as well-intentioned as they may be — often unknowingly contribute to a facility’s air circulation becoming unbalanced. Hot and bothered, they may adjust thermostats or HVAC components in an attempt to make their workspace more comfortable. The issue is that most kitchen staff aren’t aware of how sensitive a balanced HVAC system can be. Even minor adjustments can throw the system into inefficient operation, driving up energy costs and making the entire operation much more expensive.

During your next site visit or conversation with on-site managers, restaurant facility managers should take a moment to explain the basics of air balance to kitchen staff.

Here are some key points to cover:

1. HVAC equipment works as one system.

What happens in the kitchen directly affects the dining areas, and vice versa. Any changes made in one area impact the comfort, efficiency, and air circulation throughout the entire building.

2. Understand basic building pressure.

  • Building pressure plays a major role in customer comfort, kitchen hood smoke capture, condensation, energy savings, door function, insect control, and more.

  • Kitchen airflow is the largest contributing factor to overall building pressure.

  • High-velocity airflow near kitchen hoods (such as from portable fans) can interfere with the hoods’ ability to capture and exhaust smoke and heat effectively.

3. Keep grease filters clean and well-maintained.

  • Grease filters must be cleaned regularly to protect the exhaust ductwork, fans, and rooftop discharge areas.

  • Clogged filters reduce exhaust performance, create poor air quality, and lead to costly repairs.

  • Damaged filters should be replaced immediately.

Hiring an experienced and professional TAB firm to perform a test and balance on your HVAC system periodically can provide confidence that your air balance systems are operating properly. This ensures that your kitchen staff works in a comfortable environment and your customers have an enjoyable dining experience.

Using An Air Balance Report for HVAC Upkeep

Posted on by Lindsey Burbee

There is much hype these days in the facilities management industry about the importance of preventative maintenance, especially for critically important HVAC systems. In our experience,  we are often urgently called out to a facility because the site’s HVAC hasn’t been well maintained. While we’re happy to help, we also want to share insights so you don’t have preventable crises.

In a recent FER magazine article  – Realizing ROI on Planned Maintenance – author Michael Sherer quotes David Pogach, LEED GA, Longhorn Steakhouse Facilities Manager, as saying:

“We look at planned maintenance as a way of making sure equipment lasts its expected life cycle. … We know these programs work. They save money, so for us it’s not a debate of whether to spend the money now or later. We maintain our equipment.

“Planned maintenance makes the most sense for equipment that in-house staff doesn’t have the expertise or time to maintain. Most operators who have programs in place start with HVAC because putting people on the roof is a liability issue, and most foodservice employees don’t have the expertise to service HVAC systems.”

Following are ways you can use your air balance report to help start a new preventative maintenance program or audit the effectiveness of an existing one:

1)    In your report, you’ll have a list of deficiencies and recommendations for optimal operation (figure 1). First and foremost, you should schedule completion of these tasks as part of your quarterly or semi-annual preventative maintenance program.

 

2)   Another great use of a test and balance report is using the unit inspection checklists to see what should be monitored by your HVAC contractor (figure 2).

figure 2
Rooftop inspection checklist

 

3)   The report will also include unit3)  A third way to make the most of your air balance report is to use the HVAC system layout drawings to locate and inventory all equipment that needs to be maintained (figure 3). Please note that not all test and balance contractors provide this. manufacturers, model numbers, serial numbers, pulley sizes, belts sizes, motor horsepower ratings, and a large amount of other useful data which would aid in the implementation or upkeep of any preventative maintenance program.

figure 3
Building and rooftop layout

 4)   Finally, make sure your preventative maintenance programs include all of the items below. Omitting regular service on these is a leading causes of problem stores.

  • Change belts when damaged and verify proper belt tension
  • Replace filters quarterly
  • Clean outside air filters
  • Clean kitchen hood filters
  • Clean fan blower wheels
  • Clean grease traps
  • Clean evaporator and condenser coils
  • Verify thermostat settings are correct and someone onsite is trained how to adjust programming

Additional Reading

1. Realizing ROI On Planned Maintenance, Foodservice Equipment Reports Magazine, Michael Sherer, Aug 3, 2015

2. How To Read A T&B Report,  Fresh Air Blog, Derick Ramos, Aug 27, 2015

3. Planned HVAC Maintenance Adds Up to Big Savings for Retailers, Energy Manager Today, Karen Henry, May 11, 2015