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Commercial kitchen electrification is a critical component of building decarbonization but is often thought of as a stumbling block due to its perceived expense, complexity and the affinity of the restaurant industry for gas powered cooking equipment. This webinar explores how and why to electrify a commercial kitchen of any size. It profiles costs and options of electric commercial kitchen equipment, case studies on organizations that have made the switch and offer both the advantages along with any potential challenges in switching commercial kitchens to electric. Hear from New Buildings Institute and the California Energy Design Assistance (CEDA) program along with our guests in this special webinar. (7/26/2023)
Guest presenters
Richard Young, Director of Outreach, Frontier Energy Food Service Technology Center (FSTC), an unbiased, commercial foodservice, research-and-training facility. Trained as an electrical engineer, Richard started his career in alternative energy, changing from energy-generation to energy-efficiency when he joined the FSTC research team over 34 years ago. He is a contributor to the USGBC’s LEED rating system and the EPA’s ENERGY STAR program. Richard focuses his efforts on translating Frontier Energy’s 35 years of food service research into practical information. He has created and delivered over 1500 presentations and classes during the last 30 years and authored numerous research reports and articles in magazines, newsletters, and on the web. Richard is currently an advisor to the Mission College culinary education program and the Worldchefs Sustainability Education for Culinary Professionals program. He is also the creator and author of the online Foodservice Energy Efficiency Expert (Fe3) training and certification program.
Chef Christopher Galarza, Forward Dining Solutions, the first and only firm dedicated exclusively to creating sustainable and efficient commercial kitchens. Chef Galarza got his culinary training as an apprentice under several Certified Master Chefs and through his experience cooking for prestigious establishments such as Monterey Bay of Pittsburg and The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. He is now renowned for his work in kitchen electrification. He is the Founder and Culinary Sustainability Consultant for Forward Dining Solutions LLC. As the country’s foremost expert in commercial electric-kitchens Chef Galarza works with clients to create kitchens that promote healthy, efficient, and equitable working conditions. He has worked on notable projects such as Chatham University’s Eden Hall Campus (the world’s first fully self-sustained university campus), Microsoft Redmond, and Castilleja All-Girls School.
Heidi Kunsch serves as an Environmental Group Manager at PADEP’s Energy Programs Office, where she manages and oversees education and outreach, as well as financial incentive programs for high-performance, green buildings and clean transportation.
Moderators
Joe Wachunas, Project Manager, New Buildings Institute
Liepa Braciulyte, Project Analyst, New Buildings Institute
Manufacturers Roundtable and Webinar Series: Decarbonizing Commercial Buildings in California
This is the second of four online sessions where we talk about electrification and decarbonization with manufacturers of key technologies including central heat pump water heaters, all electric commercial kitchens, residential heat pump water heaters, and air source heat pumps.
