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Save Water. Save Dollars.

Feb 3rd 2021

The foodservice industry is one of the largest water consumers. Wasted water is not only causing your water bill to rise, but your electric bill as well. Most of the water that is wasted is heated water...

The foodservice industry has many water saving opportunities available. In return, putting $$ back into their pockets.

Commercial Pre-rinse Spray Valves - Most standard-flow spray valves flow at 3.0-gallons per minute (gpm) or more (11-litres per minute or more) of hot water and are used, on average, 1 to 4 hours per day. The flow rate of water and energy-efficient models is only 1.6-gpm (6.0-Lpm) or less. These efficient units can save the average small to medium food service operator as much as 150 gallons of hot water per day.

Commercial Dishwashers - and PRSVs in the typical restaurant dish room together represent the largest consumer of water in such establishments. In the late 1990s, NSF International showed that the most efficient dishwashers used 1.2 gallons of water per (20-in by 20-in) rack. Today, machines are available at well below 1.0-gallons per rack.

Connectionless/Boilerless Food Steamers - New connectionless technology yields significant water use reductions in food service (more than 80%), due largely to the elimination of condensate-cooling water.

The water efficiency standard has been set at less than 2 gallons per pan per hour, at full operational capacity (pan size is standardized in the food service industry). There are a few facilities (such as "made-to-order" restaurants) that require supercharged steam to cook the food more quickly; required a steam supply from a central boiler. In these rare cases, the water efficiency standard is set at 5 gallons/pan/hour; still achieving a significant water savings over traditional boiler connected steamers sometimes using more than 20 gallons/pan/hour. 

Commercial Ice Makers - The water and energy efficiency of commercial ice-makers both vary significantly among the many equipment models on the market. In general, however, water-cooled machines are not the preferred option. Air-cooled machines are more water-efficient, energy-efficient and cost-effective for the owner.


Commercial ice makers use much more water than just the water contained in the ice itself. A perfectly water efficient ice maker would use only 12 gallons (8.33 pounds per gallon) of water to produce 100 pounds of ice. The ice makers use additional water to rinse mineral deposits off the ice (to clarify the ice) and freezing stations (preventing scale build-up); and some machines use water to cool the compressor and refrigerant condensation coils. The most wasteful ice makers use more than 150 gallons (1,250 pounds of water) of water to make 100 pounds of ice.