Higher Education Dining Trends Impact On Energy Usage

The dining experience at Colleges and Universities across the country has changed drastically over the last decade. Although it has been about ten years since I left, it feels like just yesterday I was on campus at the University of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky University. During my tenure, the options were limited; you might find a handful of cafeterias across campus and a few popular fast food places like Wendy’s, Subway and Pizza Hut at the student union. Visiting campus now I can’t believe the changes; there are hundreds of options. The student unions have started to look more and more like casino food courts that include local options and big names. Students are seriously taking food offerings into account when considering a school, especially if they’re going to live on campus. Colleges are majorly using it to their advantage to recruit students and provide a better campus life. In 2008, NKU even constructed a new Student Union Building to compete with other local area colleges.

Over the last 7 years or so, I’ve toured dozens of higher education kitchens and the cooking operations are huge. West Point, for example, serves around 5,000 meals in a very short amount of time on any given day. All the Big 10 schools have between 7 and 10 dining halls on campus that are running for 3+ meals a day and serving a variety of options from soups and chili to baby-back ribs. With the large operations come large costs! Not just in the obvious costs including wages, salaries, and benefits, but in big time energy usage. Running the exhaust fans and the corresponding MUA units 16+ hours per day is a ton of wasted electricity. Additionally, the number of commercial exhaust hoods required to prepare the diverse food preparation means there is a ton of exhausted air and reconditioning of air required.

As schools continue to compete for higher enrollment rates and evolve with demand, they have to respond to the increased energy usage and operating expenses to ensure they can remain competitive with pricing. Many colleges and universities have tight operating budgets for their facilities, so it’s especially important to find low or no-cost ways to reduce energy expenditures. To combat these new challenges, Campus Energy Managers have started considering Demand-Controlled Kitchen Ventilation (DCKV) systems to help save the electric energy being wasted on all the new fan motors and reconditioned air. These systems conserve energy, save money and make for a quieter and more comfortable cooking experience.  Energy Managers have also started engaging students and faculty in energy conservation to save on campus energy bills. At many higher education institutions, students are the biggest advocates for energy efficiency and will respond enthusiastically to educational initiatives and conservation pledge campaigns.

 

Could Intelli-Hood be a fit for my project?

Is energy usage a pain point in your campus kitchen? Are you curious how much energy Intelli-Hood could save you?  Submit an energy savings estimate request form at the bottom of our Intelli-Hood page to get started.

 

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Melink Launches Financing for Intelli-Hood® Kitchen Ventilation Controls

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CINCINNATI – Dec 30, 2016 – Melink Corporation is offering an innovative new program, Melink Finance, to help provide financial options for customers seeking to implement energy-saving projects without large up-front capital commitments. The goal of the program is to allow customers to purchase Melink’s Intelli-Hood® kitchen ventilation controls and use energy savings to pay for the equipment cost on a monthly basis. 

The Melink Finance program can be tailored to meet customers’ cash flow needs based on their particular individual situations. For instance, there are deferred payment options and seasonal payment structures to match the customer’s revenue stream if the company’s existing budget is depleted. The program seeks to shift the cost of energy saving projects from large capital expenditure allocations to the operating expense side of the ledger. This shift will allow customers to have more flexibility in project timing and capture available utility incentives before they expire. 

“Our mission is to save as much energy as possible for our customers, and this program allows us to remove financial barriers in support of our customers energy savings goals,” said Randy Miles, vice president and general manager of Intelli-Hood. “This allows them to take advantage of operational cost savings on day one and provide an immediate ROI. Essentially, we can create a net positive cash flow transaction on the first day by having the energy savings exceed the monthly payment for the controls. This will allow our customers to achieve their profitability and sustainability goals while preserving capital expense.”

For more information on Melink Finance, please contact
Luci Feie at 513-965-7300 or [email protected]

About Melink Intelli-Hood

Melink Corporation is the pioneer in demand control kitchen ventilation controls, having  launched Intelli-Hood in 1990. Melink’s patented Intelli­-Hood HVAC controls package visually monitors the level of cooking activity and automatically instructs the exhaust fan to operate only as fast as necessary. Intelli­-Hood is installed into new or existing commercial hood systems and transforms a
basic stainless steel box into an intelligent energy­-saving machine.
Melink has installed Intelli-Hood controls on more than 30,000 kitchen hoods around the world. Additional information and resources may be found at www.intellihood.comIntelli-Hood is one of four business offerings from Melink, a global provider of energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions for the commercial building industry. The others are HVAC Testing & Balancing, 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 andNet-Zero Energy, and its vehicle fleet consists of all hybrid and electric
cars. To learn more about Melink Corporation, visit 
Melinkcorp.com or call 513.592.3391.

EPA Recognizes Melink Intelli-Hood® with 2015 ENERGY STAR® Emerging Technology Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EPA Recognizes Melink Intelli-Hood® with 2015 ENERGY STAR® Emerging Technology Award

Cincinnati, OH- January 30, 2015- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized Melink Corporation’s Intelli-Hood® Demand Control Kitchen Ventilation (DCKV) System with the 2015 ENERGY STAR Emerging Technology Award for its ability to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Intelli-Hood®’s accomplishments will be publically recognized at The North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM) Show in Anaheim, CA on February 19-21, 2015.

This accomplishment marks another milestone for Intelli-Hood® since pioneering DCKV technology in 1989. After overcoming regulatory obstacles and winning the 2012 AHR Product of the Year, this award further propels the market acceptance of DCKV and its aim to further green the commercial kitchen. With over 10,000 systems installed worldwide and an estimated 650 million kWh/year saved, Intelli-Hood® contributes to energy conservation goals of the top commercial food service operations.

EPA ENERGY STAR Program Manager, Una Song, responded, “We extend  congratulations and applause to Melink Intelli-Hood® for the Emerging Technology Award accomplishment.  The Intelli Hood® System is a benchmark for DCKV technology that offers energy savings with financial value.”

Craig Davis, Vice President of Intelli-Hood®, commented on receiving the award, “Melink Corporation is fully committed to sustainability, and we are focused on the development of energy efficient products and services that support this commitment.  Not only are we honored to be recognized by the EPA for our Intelli-Hood® technology, we also applaud the EPA’s effort to bringing DCKV technology, such as Intelli-Hood®, to the forefront of energy efficiency”.

Steve Melink, President of the Melink Corporation, states the following as a response, “We are very grateful for this award.  As the pioneer of automatic variable-speed controls for commercial kitchen hoods over 25 years ago, this further validates our vision and passion for innovation.”

Technology Overview

Commercial kitchen ventilation removes the heat and effluent generated by the cooking process from the kitchen space, ensuring the comfort and safety of the cooking staff.  Commercial kitchen ventilation is typically composed of an exhaust hood suspended above the cooking appliances ducted to fans necessary to expel the heat and effluent outside.  To replace the air lost through this process, make-up air (MUA) must be provided by the building’s HVAC system or a dedicated MUA fan to the kitchen, which is composed of its own fan, ducts and potentially heating or cooling depending on the climate.

DCKV provides control over the ventilation system by modulating the speed depending on cooking activity.  Traditionally, commercial kitchen ventilation systems would operate at their maximum designed speed/volume throughout the duration of the kitchen’s operating hours.  In contrast, DCKV provides automatic, continuous control over fan speed in response to temperature or optical sensors that monitor cooking activity.

About Melink Corporation

Melink Corporation is a pioneer in energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions for commercial and institutional facilities. The Cincinnati-based company has become an industry leader comprised of three businesses: Melink Test & Balance provides heating, ventilation and air conditioning commissioning services; Intelli-Hood® applies energy-saving controls to commercial kitchen ventilation systems; and Melink Solar supplies solar photovoltaic project development services for commercial building owners and utilities. Melink works with some of the largest and most successful organizations in the world, including Walmart, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Verizon Communications, U.S. military, Target, Whole Foods Market, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Honeywell, Siemens AG, PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition, Melink operates in a LEED Platinum and Net Zero Energy office building, making it the greenest building in Ohio. For more information, please visit melinkcorp.com

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR® is the simple choice for energy efficiency. For more than 20 years, people across America have looked to EPA’s ENERGY STAR program for guidance on saving energy,
saving money, and protecting the environment. Behind each blue label is a product, building, or home that is independently certified to use less energy and cause fewer of the emissions that contribute to climate change. Join the millions already making a difference at energystar.gov.

Contact:

Lucinda Carl

Melink Corporation

Marketing and Sales Specialist

T: 513.965.7300

E: [email protected]