
Everyone works hard in the foodservice industry, but arguably no one works harder than hot water. Hot water is essential for sanitation and critical to keeping an establishment up and running. Without it, downtime is inevitable, and with downtime comes lost profits, frustrated employees, and unhappy customers—three things every establishment wants to avoid. The good news is that the benefits offered by the Internet of Things (IoT) have changed the playing field for operations leaders in regard to hot water monitoring.
The most successful restaurants, convenience stores, and food-related businesses use cutting-edge technology, like IoT, to prevent losing access to hot water. Solutions like Open Kitchen provide enterprise visibility and control over mission-critical equipment such as water heaters. This makes hot water monitoring easier through sensors and real-time alerts that provide detailed proactive text and/or email messages to staff when equipment issues occur. This is especially beneficial for facilities that have more than one water tank.
IoT also helps reduce your establishment’s water and energy bills through temperature monitoring to ensure water heaters don’t work harder than they must. Hot water should be around 140 degrees at the faucet, and the approximate savings by managing the water temperature is more than $100 per year (probably more with today’s soaring energy prices).
Another benefit of a connected facility is the ability to monitor and control water usage. We discuss this extensively in our whitepaper, Water, Water Everywhere… and 10 Ways for Restaurants to Stem the Flow. Studies suggest that restaurants can use as much as 25,000 gallons of water daily, with more conservative estimates averaging around 5,800. The latter alone equals a mind-blowing 2 million gallons of water annually.
A connected facility can optimize water, gas, and electricity consumption in numerous ways. For example, Open Kitchen offers:
- Temperature tracking that monitors temps 24/7 with self-installable wireless sensors
- Real-time access and insight into kitchen and equipment operations
- The ability to shift from reactive to proactive equipment servicing
- Consistent and efficient scheduling for HVAC and other equipment
Conclusion
Hot water monitoring combined with more sustainable practices around water usage is crucial for all foodservice establishments. IoT makes this easier through remote equipment monitoring and the ability to reduce consumption and avoid unexpected downtime.
Learn more about the benefits of hot water monitoring with IoT when you start a conversation with a team member.