The Market at Stangel/Murdough is a 19,500 square-foot kitchen and dining facility located between two residence halls at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. It’s one of 21 foodservice locations serving 35,000 students, faculty members and visitors on campus.
Accurex worked with The Market on a kitchen ventilation upgrade as part of a $3 million remodeling project. A food court atmosphere with 12 different food stations and onsite, viewable cooking makes this newly renovated facility one of the most popular dining locations on campus.
Ventilation Objective
Texas Tech Texas Tech Hospitality Services Services wanted an energy-efficient, low maintenance kitchen ventilation system that could serve multiple cooking stations, perform extremely well during peak use periods and then automatically shut off during holidays and break periods. Minimizing energy and hood cleaning costs, quiet operation and employee comfort were top priorities.
Solution
Six Accurex wall canopy hoods, Model XXDW, with Grease X-Tractor™ filters were selected for this project. The Accurex Grease-X-Tractor™ filters remove 69% of the grease particles at eight microns and are very easy to remove and clean. The LED lighting in all the hoods provides a bright, warm light that food preparers really appreciate. Two Accurex hoods, Model XGH2O, installed over high-grease cooking operations at The Market included an optional water wash hood cleaning system that self-cleans the filters in place. Nozzles spray hot water and detergent on and behind the filter(s) cleaning the grease that has deposited on the surfaces.
Two Accurex Vari-Flow Systems with heat sensors mounted in the capture area were also installed to ensure an effective—and automatic—variable volume ventilation system. The Vari-Flow control system monitors cooking operations with temperature sensors and quickly adjusts airflow to meet ventilation demands. During slower periods, Vari-Flow automatically reduces fan speed as well as heating and cooling loads—resulting in significant savings in energy costs. The Vari-Flow system can achieve a 50% turndown in airflow and responds five times faster than control systems with a duct mounted temperature sensors. Lowering fan speeds during slower periods also results in lower sound levels for customers and employees. Five make-up air units, Model XMSX, with steam heating and chilled water cooling were also selected and installed at The Market. Other Accurex products included an Amerex® Zone Defense Fire Suppression System, a utility set fan, Model XUEB, and several spun aluminum exhaust fans, Model XRUB.
What We Achieved
Hospitality Services at Texas Tech University has been able to lower costs from professional vent hood cleaning services as well as their own labor costs for daily hood cleaning tasks at The Market. The Vari-Flow Air Management systems and other energy efficiency products installed during the renovation have contributed to an overall reduction in energy, heating and cooling costs according to Michael Glass, assistant director of maintenance and renovations.
“We also have noticed how much quieter our cooking stations are,” Glass said, “both during peak fan operation and during the lower demand periods when they automatically slow down.”
