After a year of necessary equipment upgrades at several of our Taco Bells throughout Minnesota, we’re celebrating the impact we can have in more responsibly conducting business!
By replacing equipment with more Energy Star-rated equipment, our 2022 savings are enough to charge more than 25 million smartphones!*
Minnesota is currently Border Foods’ largest Taco Bell market with nearly 100 restaurants. According to Facilities Coordinator Rhonda Topp, the state’s utility providers often provide rebate incentives for upgrading to more energy-efficient equipment. In this case, after assessing Border Foods’ perceived equipment needs as a company, we worked closely with CenterPoint Energy Foodservice Department’s Ann Lovcik to identify rebate opportunities.
The resulting savings for equipment upgrades at 15 Minnesota Taco Bells was a whopping $27,000 in energy rebates (which doesn’t even include 26 water heater rebates)!
The Details
Our Brooklyn Park location on 94th Avenue North received the most equipment upgrades with eight pieces of equipment replaced by more energy-efficient systems and $4,560 received in rebates.
Among the most common equipment upgrades across the 15 locations involved, we:
- switched water heater tanks for tankless;
- swapped existing fryers for Energy Star versions to improve cooking (recover and cook faster, and can fry more “better quality” product per hour); and
- upgraded to more energy-efficient rethermalizers for efficient reheating.
In an effort to continue the quest for energy savings and doing our part to be more energy efficient across the company, Rhonda says Border Foods will continue investigating opportunities in its other states with operations.
Border Foods’ 2022 energy savings from installing high-efficiency equipment is the equivalent of 209 metric tons of carbon dioxide!
*According to data provided by CenterPoint Energy.
