We've spoken at length recently about the benefit that the retrofit kit may bring to your foodservice operation.
Schools have had to adapt and overcome many different trials over the past year. From going completely virtual, to hybrid, to full in-person, it seems the changes are never-ending and pose all new complications. The biggest hurdle that many school foodservice operations have had to jump over recently has been properly and effectively monitoring their refrigeration, and that's what we're here to talk about today.
We all know that commercial refrigeration is one of the biggest drains in energy consumption in any operation. Going hand in hand with that, it also then turns into being one of the largest areas to save money, if done correctly. If replacing every single refrigeration unit in all the district schools is out of the budget these days (it usually is) the Eco-Smart remote monitoring system is an easy way to save money on energy, as well as labor cost and ongoing maintenance. Eco-Smart is the perfect addition to any school. The savings allotted from properly monitoring your energy can all but pay for itself within the first year.
How else can Eco-Smart potentially save your school money?
1. On demand defrost: This utilizes "smart" technologies and algorithms to determine the precise times when defrost cycles are needed. This is different from other defrost systems that work on timers and often operate when they're not even needed. Less cycles equals less wasted energy- that's some simple math for all ages.
2. Remote monitoring: Eco-Smart monitoring during the days of COVID was extremely beneficial, since it's expensive to staff an on-site maintenance person to sit there and babysit your equipment- especially when the building is empty. Most schools are investing in monitoring systems, but the monthly charges for them are astronomical. With RDT's optional Smart Access cloud-based portal, you can remotely manage and monitor multiple campuses at one dashboard interface, and the first year of service is free. Yes, you read that correctly. After the first year passes, it's less than $3/month per controller. Your current engineers can install the units because it's easy to install and begin monitoring. If you stop to think about it, the average school freezer holds approximately $10k of inventory. If the freezer goes down over the weekend, that money is literally going straight into the dumpster. Smart Access and the real-time alerts can alert you immediately, before it becomes that extreme.
To put it simply, the investment in the Eco-Smart is a smart decision. In a recent free school energy study, a school district in Kentucky would save hundreds of thousands of dollars by placing an Eco-Smart in their schools- and the cost of the units would be paid for within the first year alone. The RDT retrofit kit is one easy way for schools to take a big step into the future to save money, and reduce their energy spend monthly.