Low Flow Sprayers and Exauhst Hoods

// projects / Low Flow Sprayers and Exauhst Hoods

In April 2007, Emily Humphreys contacted Rafi (Executive Director of Stanford Dining) about whether the sprayers used in the dining halls were low-flow and what type of exhaust hoods they used. Here was the response:

Hello Emily,

Thank you for your email. Stanford Dining is dedicated to sustainable business practices and we appreciate others who are similarly committed Low-flow sprayers have been installed and retro-fitted in all Stanford Dining facility dishrooms. An even more advanced water and energy-efficient dishwashing system called Opti-Rinse (which reduces water usage by 20%) has been installed in Lagunita and will be installed in Ricker Dining over the summer. Future dining renovation/construction projects will include the installation of water/energy efficient dishwashing systems. It is always our goal to reduce water usage while still complying with strict foodservice health and sanitation standards.

As a Student for Sustainability, you may also be interested to know that our dishwashing systems at Stern and Wilbur are designed to separate water from food, napkins and other organic products and then grind the organic materials into pulp which is then turned into compost.

As far as your question regarding the hoods, we have and continue to look into newly developed technologies that provide for more efficient exhaust hoods. The difficulty lies in the fact that most of this technology is being designed for commercial kitchens (like restaurants) and not for institutional kitchens (like those at Stanford Dining), which by their nature require significantly larger exhaust hoods. Though we currently have exhaust hoods and fans set on timers to reduce energy use, there are strict requirements as to how frequently the air in these facilities must be changed, and above all we must comply with these regulations.

Thank you again for your questions and environmental conscientiousness.

Rafi

Currently (April, 2007), the project is on hold based on this response, though Emily is looking into the possibility of more efficient exhaust hoods.