Air conditioners and heat go hand in hand—and that can mean energy savings for restaurants.
There’s no better illustration of this point than Chesapeake, VA-based Hotspot Energy’s Air Conditioner Water Heater (ACWH), which takes heat extracted from a room and uses it to power a water heater. Heat that would otherwise be wasted gets put to use, resulting in energy savings and a lightened load on water heating costs.
The ACWH can heat up to a 1,000-square foot room, and heat about 100 gallons of water per day. It’s ideal for facilities—like restaurants—that use hot water throughout the day.
The unit can only make a significant dent in water heating costs if the air conditioner is running and there’s enough hot air in the room to heat the water. But in areas that run their air conditioners during the spring and fall as well as summer, the unit has potential to create real savings.
How do you keep your restaurant cool? How do you save on your energy costs during the summer? Share your tips in the Comments section.
