Context
Like many companies based in Silicon Valley, this search engine giant has always had goals toward sustainability, energy efficiency, and environmental stewardship. As their technology and building footprint spans the globe, they have been diligent to make sure their operational impact is minimized. Their initial goals were focused on achieving carbon neutrality and the first place they started was in the pursuit of aggressive energy-efficiency initiatives. Specified by their in-house facility design team, Melink has installed Intelli-Hood controls in 51 locations, both retro-fits and new construction installations.
Why kitchen controls though?
According to the EIA, commercial foodservice uses more energy per square foot than any other industry and within that, 22% of all energy consumption can be attributed to the kitchen HVAC alone!
Result
Since first committing to becoming carbon neutral, this company has successfully achieved that goal every year. Their first step in this fight against GHG emissions comes in utilizing the most energy efficient technologies available with the last resort being key projects to offset their total carbon use. The data in this study is from the first 13 installations of Intelli-Hood®. Across the 13 kitchen facilities, the kitchen exhaust system realized an average energy savings of 78%, which results in $248,379 in utility savings a year. Along with financial returns, Intelli-Hood® also reduces over 1.7 million lbs of CO2 annually, carbon they no longer need to account for when devising carbon offsetting projects.
