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Case Studies

Cincinnati Zoo Restaurant Retrofit

I appreciate that Intelli-Hood® is automated, it’s one less thing to worry about in managing a restaurant. We don’t have to remind people to turn it on and off. We get savings by letting the system run on it’s on.

– Tony James, facilities management at the Cincinnati Zoo

CONTEXT

Base Camp Cafe at the Cincinnati Zoo was due for a remodel project in 2013 and took the opportunity to retrofit the restaurant with environmentally sustainable features. They set the goal of achieving LEED Gold certification, but meeting the requirements posed much challenge. Below are the restaurant kitchen conditions:

  • Total motor power: 10 HP
  • Daily operating hours: 14
  • Days per week: 7
  • Weeks per year: 52
  • Cost per kilowatt hour: $.10
  • Climate zone: 5
  • Customers per year: 1.4 million

RESULTS

The Cincinnati Zoo Sustainability Team chose to install Intelli-Hood® Controls to gain credits toward their pursuit of a LEED Gold-certified Cafe. The Zoo previously worked with Melink for a solar canopy project. Since 2013, Base Camp Cafe has been ranked the greenest restaurant in the nation, as measured by The Green Restaurant Association. This association granted them 473 points for the different green elements of their restaurant, with their energy reduction accounting for 220 points, or 47% of their score.

 

Energy savings graphic

The following is a five-day fan speed graph at the Base Camp Cafe:

Green graphic

Here is a before (navy) and after (green) reductions in kilowatt hours, heat load and exhaust volume:

energy data before and after Intelli-Hood

The facilities team at the Cincinnati Zoo commented on their impression of Intelli-Hood® and working with Melink:

“I appreciate that Intelli-Hood® is automated, it’s one less thing to worry about in managing a restaurant. We don’t have to remind people to turn it on and off. We get savings by letting the system run on it’s on.”
– Tony James, Cincinnati Zoo, Facilities Management

“Melink was detail-oriented and, to be honest, a lot more on-the-ball than we were. They were responsive to the fine-tuning issues that came about, such as sensors getting dirty with grease.”
– Greg Speidel, HGC Construction, Project Manager

“Restaurants are huge energy hogs, it’s also where you can get your money back.”
– Mark Fisher, Cincinnati Zoo, Director of Sustainability

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.

Military Base Retrofit Case Study

OVERVIEW

In effort to evaluate the potential of Demand Control Kitchen Ventilation (DCKV) technology, the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) designed, executed, and evaluated a field study. Melink Intelli-Hood® was installed in four dining facilities at Department of Defense (DoD) locations in different climate zones across the United States. These kitchens typically serve a high volume of many meals in short time periods and are excellent candidates for DCKV kitchen controls equipment to reduce energy usage of kitchen hood fans. Baseline measurements were taken before the installations, and the energy savings were determined after several months of data. There were two performance objectives: demonstrate a savings of at least 30% in energy usage and maintain or improve occupant comfort.

RESULTS

Both performance objectives were achieved with all four dining facilities saving more than 30% in energy usage as well as maintaining comfort and noise level. No complaints were reported for this military base retrofit installation. Further, the following parameters were found to maximize ROI:

  • Relatively large exhaust hood systems (min. of 5,000 CFM)
  • Climate requiring significant heating and/or cooling of makeup air
  • Relatively long operating hours
  • Med-High utility costs

MILITARY DINING CASE STUDY RESULTS WITH INTELLIHOOD

The following is an excerpt from the ERDC report in section 8.3:

Procurement Considerations:
Some vendors offer systems that use only temperature sensors, i.e., they do not use optical or opacity sensors. This is not recommended since the optical sensors provide an indication of cooking when the exhaust air has not yet reached the set point temperature.  Thus, the hoods would continue to operate at a low exhaust rate and cooking effluent would spill from the exhaust hood. Temperature-only systems are usually set to higher exhaust rates to mitigate this issue.

The following is a summary table of the energy savings results for the military base retrofit:

Before/After Energy Savings Summary of Intelli-Hood

The following are before and after Intelli-Hood® exhaust fan speed graphs:

Line graph

Line graph

Line graph

Line graph

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.

Frankfurt Hotel Retrofit Case Study

CONTEXT

In October 2012 the Radison Blu Hotel in Frankfurt installed their first Melink Intelli-Hood® system. Following the success of this project another 7 installations followed throughout Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Poland. Additional opportunities in the portfolio are being reviewed as a result of the energy savings being realized at the existing properties. There is an established and dedicated network throughout Europe to ensure project support from concept to completion for commercial kitchen operations.

RESULTS

intellihood radison blu savings graphic

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.

South Korea Hospital Retrofit Case Study

CONTEXT

Faced with the industry challenge to reduce operating costs, Daegu Catholic Hospital in Daegu, South Korea sought after promising opportunities to reduce energy usage.

  • Total motor power: 170 HP
  • Daily operating hours: 17
  • Days per week: 7
  • Weeks per year: 52
  • Cost per kilowatt hour: $0.088

RESULTS

Energy savings graphic

Below are the before (navy) and after (green) reductions in kilowatt hours, heat load and exhaust volume:

Graph

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.

Chicago Hospital Retrofit Case Study

“The Intelli-Hood® system at Shriner’s is exceeding expected savings, it has the staff very impressed…which makes us look like heroes! We’re pleased with the data and will get it installed in future kitchens.”

– Mike Sullivan, Hill Mechanical Operations Inc, Director of Facilities for Shriner’s Hospital

CONTEXT

Faced with the industry challenge to reduce operating costs, Shriner’s Hospital sought after promising opportunities to reduce energy usage. Other hospitals in the area had selected Demand Control Kitchen Ventilation (DCKV) for their cafeteria kitchen hoods based on promising estimated savings and available utility incentives. Shriner’s decided to also take advantage of the opportunity.

  • Total motor power: 8 HP
  • Daily operating hours: 14
  • Days per week: 7
  • Weeks per year: 52
  • Cost per kilowatt hour: $0.10
  • Climate zone: 5

RESULTS

Shriner’s Hospital made use of $4,000 in total incentives from both People’s Gas and Franklin Energy to get DCKV installed. Intelli-Hood® reduced their hood exhaust fan speed by 45 percent and has been proven to perform above expectations.

Energy savings graphic

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

Green graphic

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.

Stadium Retrofit Case Study

CONTEXT

Faced with the industry challenge to reduce operating costs, Gillette Stadium sought after promising opportunities to reduce energy usage. Other stadiums in the country had selected Demand Control Kitchen Ventilation (DCKV) for their kitchen hoods based on promising estimated savings and available utility incentives. The Gillette Stadium team also decided to take advantage of the opportunity.

  • Total motor power: 41 HP
  • Daily operating hours: 14
  • Days per week: 7
  • Weeks per year: 50
  • Cost per kilowatt hour: $0.10
  • Climate zone: Marine

RESULTS

Gillette Stadium selected Intelli-Hood® to be installed into the hoods in the Club and Players kitchens. The team capitalized on utility rebate incentives that expedited the payback projection by 1.5 years. After operating for some time, the two kitchens were tested and proved to have reduced exhaust fan speed dramatically. In the Players kitchen the fan speed was reduced by 66 percent and in the Club kitchen the speed was reduced by 55 percent. Combined, the average fan speed across both kitchens was 60 percent.

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

Gillete savings graphic

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.

Madrid Hotel Retrofit Case Study

CONTEXT

Rated at 4-stars, the Hotel ILUNION Pio XII in Madrid, Spain sought to save energy in their kitchens. In 2014, they hired Melink to install Intelli­-Hood® demand control kitchen ventilation as a means to reach this goal. Here is more information regarding the hotel kitchens:

  • Total motor power: 6 HP
  • Daily operating hours: 14
  • Days per week: 7
  • Weeks per year: 52
  • Cost per kilowatt hour: 0.11 EURO

RESULTS

Intelli-Hood saved 8,072 EURO in utility costs and reported an average fan speed of 56%. This resulted in a 2.1-year payback and reduced carbon emissions.

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

And the below graphic indicates the before (navy) and after (green) reductions in kilowatt hours, heat load, and exhaust volume:

 

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.

Hong Kong Hotel Retrofit Case Study

CONTEXT

With 602 beautifully designed rooms and 8 luxurious restaurants and lounges, The JW Marriott in Hong Kong, China sought to save energy and reduce their carbon footprint while offering a 24/7 dining service. In 2014, they decided to install Melink’s patented Intelli­-Hood® demand control kitchen ventilation as a means to reach this goal. Here is more information regarding the hotel kitchens:

  • Total motor power: 15 HP
  • Daily operating hours: 24
  • Days per week: 7
  • Weeks per year: 52
  • Cost per kilowatt hour: $0.14

RESULTS

Intelli-Hood® saved $8,249 in utility costs and reported an average fan speed of 76%. This resulted in a 2-year payback and and reduced carbon emissions.  The JW Marriott team is very pleased.

demand control ventilation energy savings and payback with Intelli-Hood

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

variable speed exhaust fan graph at JW Marriott

And the below graphic indicates the before (navy) and after (green) reductions in kilowatt hours, heat load, and exhaust volume:

before and after kilowatt, heat load, and CFM savings

 

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.

Restaurant Retrofit Case Study

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.