Gas Booster Heaters Save Energy and Time
Keep your dishes in hot water, and save energy as well
Foodservice operators can choose a high-efficiency, environmentally clean, and cost-effective solution to providing the final rinse for sanitizing dishes. Gas booster heaters take hot water at temperatures of 120°F–140°F and "boost" it to 180°F. The gas booster heater’s high-temperature rinse eliminates the need to use chemicals for sanitizing, minimizes drying time, and lowers dish inventory requirements, while increasing the dishwashing production rate. In addition, a gas booster can replace existing high-maintenance electric booster heaters that contribute to high demand charges.
Gas booster heaters are available from a number of manufacturers and come in an assortment of sizes. They generally range from 50,000 to 200,000 Btu, and are for use with both smaller, door-type dishwashers and larger conveyor systems. Gas booster heaters can be installed near the dishwasher or at a remote location. Innovative new space saving designs can be installed underneath the dish table or mounted on the wall. Heat transfer for gas booster heaters is eighty percent or greater, making them among the most efficient and cost-effective of all gas equipment. Most gas booster conversions have achieved a simple payback in two years or less.
Natural gas booster water heaters can help save on energy bills and increase dishwashing production in a number of applications. Some of these include:
- Restaurants,
- Hotels and Motels,
- Schools and Universities, and
- Hospitals and Nursing Homes.
Gas vs. Electric Booster Heaters
Gas booster heaters can save significantly on annual energy costs, in comparison to electric units. In a recent case study, a hotel in South Carolina compared the annual operating cost of a gas booster heater against a comparable electric model. The hotel uses a standard dishwasher with a load of 405 gallons per hour. The dishwasher operates an average of five hours per day, and operates thirty days per month, twelve months each year. The incoming water temperature is 140º with a desired rinse temperature of 180º, requiring a 40º boost. With a 4.5 cents per kWh hour electric rate, plus demand charges, the annual operating cost for the electric unit was $3,972. Using a natural gas charge of eighty-five cents per therm, the yearly energy cost for the gas booster heater was $2,600—a savings of over thirty-five percent.