Hobart Warewasher Helps University of Cincinnati Recreation Center Reduce Process Water Consumption By 35 Percent; Achieve LEED Certification

Troy, OH – November 7, 2007 – Hobart’s FT900 Flight-Type warewasher with the Opti-Rinse™ feature helped the University of Cincinnati’s Campus Recreation Center achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certification. The LEED Green Building Rating System™ is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings.

The recreation center, now the largest LEED-certified building in Cincinnati, was granted certification based on five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

The recreation center achieved LEED for New Construction and Major Renovations certification with a total of 29 points, including ID Credit 4: Kitchen Process Equipment Water Use Reduction. In order to achieve this credit, the university had to maximize water efficiency within the recreation center via conscientious selection of kitchen equipment that is collectively more energy and water efficient than typically chosen equipment. The university had to also reduce water consumption beyond 20 percent to lesson the burden on municipal water supply and wastewater systems as well as reducing the carbon footprint from the kitchen equipment energy use.

“The university is committed to providing its students and faculty with an efficient, productive and environmentally-friendly atmosphere in which to learn and work,” says Bob Marton, facilities and construction services project manager at the University of Cincinnati.

FT900 Reduces Water Consumption by 27 Percent
CenterCourt, the recreation center’s restaurant, reduced water consumption by 35 percent. Hobart’s FT900 warewasher contributed to 76 percent of the recreation center’s water reduction, or 27 percent of the university’s total water reduction.

Using the Hobart FT900 with Opti-Rinse, the recreation center experienced an estimated annual energy and water savings of approximately $7,700 and almost 400,000 gallons of potable water.

Hobart’s FT900 Dual-Rinse Flight-Type Warewashers are engineered to reduce water use and energy consumption while maintaining all NSF standards for cleaning and sanitizing. The Opti-Rinse feature uses far less water but generates larger water droplets, resulting in more efficient heat transfer.

The FT900 dual-rinse machines are fully automatic flight-type dishwashers consisting of a power-recirculating prewash, power wash, power rinse (FT900D), dual rinse and a final rinse section (FT900SD). The FT900SD can clean more than 10,000 pieces of ware per hour and uses only 72 gallons of water per hour. The higher capacity FT900D can handle more than 15,000 pieces of ware per hour and uses only 90 gallons of water per hour. Compared to previous models without Opti-Rinse, the FT900 can save up to 73 percent in water and energy usage.

In addition to using the Hobart FT900 warewasher, the University of Cincinnati also relied on energy-efficient flow fixtures, ice machines and ENERGY STAR® qualified Trauslen refrigerators and freezers to reduce water consumption and energy costs.

“The key to a sustainable kitchen is selecting durable equipment designed for high energy efficiency and low water consumption,” says Rick Cartwright, vice president and general manager, retail systems of the Food Equipment Group. “But it doesn’t stop there. Kitchen layout, ventilation and air filtration, chemical cleaners and lighting play an important role in a kitchen’s overall sustainability.”

Hobart also has a full line of warewashers that carry the U.S. EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification. On average, Hobart LXi undercounter, AM Select door-type and C-Line conveyor warewashers use 25 percent less energy and 25 percent less water than non-ENERGY STAR models. This equates to an average savings of $850 in energy costs (approximately 90 Btu), 52,000 gallons of water and $200 in water costs annually. The combined annual savings can total thousands of dollars, including the resource cost of the water, energy savings for heating less water and wastewater fees.

About Hobart
Hobart is the world leader in commercial food equipment and service for the foodservice and food retail industries. Hobart manufactures products for warewashing and waste handling; food preparation; baking; cooking; weighing, wrapping and labeling systems; and Traulsen refrigeration. Hobart equipment is supported by a national network of nearly 1,700 factory-trained service technicians and 200 locations across the United States. To learn more about Hobart, visit www.hobartcorp.com.

About Traulsen
Traulsen has been providing premium refrigeration to the worldwide food equipment market since 1938. Traulsen's broad refrigeration product offering includes reach-ins, roll-ins, undercounters, blast chillers and prep tables. To learn more about Traulsen, visit www.traulsen.com.

Media Contact

Tammy Monroe
HSR Business to Business
(513) 346-3436
hobart@hsr.com