Quintex are pleased to announce that they are now approved TUCO suppliers.
TUCO is a professional membership organization for in-house caterers in higher education, further education, and the public sector. They help enhance the learning and development of catering and hospitality teams, offering quality standards, expert advice, and valuable information to those working in in-house catering.
Quintex have a record in working with higher education establishments such as the University of Reading and Warwick University. Our Cheetah demand based kitchen ventilation control system helped Warwick University to 341,062 kWh saved per annum which equates to an annual saving of £21,000. They achieved a 2 year pay back on their energy saving investment.
We have a number of blog posts aimed at helping educational establishments save energy (and money);
We also have case studies of where we have helped educational establishments;
Quintex page on TUCOIt’s crucial to maintain the efficiency and functionality of your Cheetah system to ensure effective operation. In this blog post, we will delve into the costs per service visit, the frequency of service visits, and the services provided during these visits. Additionally, we will explore the cost implications of equipment failure and the benefits of the Cheetah system’s modular design.
Under our PPM contract, several services are included. These include remote telephone support throughout the year, quarterly energy-saving reports, and one annual service visit.
To keep your equipment in top condition, service visits are scheduled once every year. This regular maintenance allows for preventive measures to be taken, reducing the likelihood of unexpected breakdowns or malfunctions that could disrupt kitchen operations and guest experiences.
During each service visit, a range of tasks is performed to ensure the optimal functioning of your equipment. The list includes, but is not restricted to;
By adhering to these service protocols, you can maximize the lifespan and efficiency of your equipment. We are also able to constantly monitor your system, if you feel you are having any issues with your kitchen extract you can contact our helpdesk for their support. We can adjust fan speeds, check on faults and advise you how to resolve them.
Understanding the life cycle costs of equipment is vital for effective financial planning. Over a typical life expectancy of 10 years, it’s essential to consider expenses such as initial supply and installation, servicing, and the replacement of faulty parts. By factoring in these costs, you can accurately assess the overall financial implications and potential savings associated with equipment maintenance.
Cheetah has gained a reputation for being a robust system with minimal moving parts. Kitchens using well-maintained Cheetah systems have reported their longevity, with some units remaining in operation for up to 10 years. This impressive lifespan is a testament to the system’s reliability and durability, offering kitchen owners peace of mind and reducing the need for frequent equipment replacements.
One notable advantage of the Cheetah system is its modular design. Should a part malfunction or require replacement, it is possible to replace only that specific part rather than the entire system. This modular approach can result in substantial cost savings, as you won’t need to invest in a complete system replacement when only a component needs attention.
Investing in our annual Cheetah PPM contract is a prudent choice for kitchen owners who aim to maintain the efficiency and longevity of their equipment. By understanding the costs per service visit, frequency of visits, and services provided, you can ensure your kitchen operates smoothly while minimizing the risk of costly breakdowns. With the Cheetah system’s modular design, reliability, and affordable call-out and replacement options, kitchen owners can maximize their return on investment and provide exceptional guest experiences.
The pandemic has altered the way schools are run drastically, with many still carrying out teaching and learning remotely. Even though many schools haven’t been offering school dinners in the usual way, some have stayed open to help communities with meal distribution, keeping equipment ticking over and providing a vital service in times of need.
Many schools are looking to become as efficient as possible, by evaluating areas they can save money. As every school kitchen requires a ventilation system, it only makes sense to make them as efficient as possible. In this time where learning is being done at home for many, we believe schools should be preparing for their students to return, but making a conscious effort to think about the long term.
You’ve probably heard us talk a lot about our 2050 Net Carbon Goals, and exactly how reaching them will impact the environment. Cheetah has already been helping schools across the UK achieve their sustainability goals and we want to help as many schools as we can to reach them before 2050!
The energy used for catering facilities amounts to around 10 percent of a school’s energy costs. (Source: Education Business UK). By enhancing the energy efficiency of school catering equipment, this can be instrumental to your energy saving efforts, reducing your carbon footprint and saving money where it matters most.
A large secondary school, for example, will use their catering facilities for a minimum of 10 hours of cooking per week, but kitchen equipment could be on from start to finish each day. This means hours of wasted energy when no cooking is happening, and the unnecessary spending of money. Without the right equipment, this means hours of inefficiency – but there is a solution.
Relieving some financial pressure could be a lifesaver for many schools, and our Cheetah system does exactly that, as well as saving the energy you’re actually wasting. No matter how old or new your kitchen is, Cheetah is a Demand Control Kitchen Ventilation (DCKV) system which can control ventilation fan speeds to match the cooking demands of your school kitchen, optimising energy use and getting you well on your way to reaching those Net Carbon Goals.
With Cheetah operating in normal mode, the system’s sensors control the fans. The fans are set to a minimum speed by default but demand based extraction automatically increases in the event of smoke, high temperatures in ducts, low air flow in ducts and high levels of carbon dioxide in the kitchen.
This ensures your school kitchen runs as safely and efficiently as it needs to, and we’ve already saved the education sector thousands of kW in energy!
Read our case studies on how we help educational establishments;
– How we helped Warwick University save 122 tonnes carbon and £21k per annum.
– How we helped Reading University save an average daily energy saving of 97.79 kWh per day from the fans at one site.
Our Cheetah system can help your school exceed your net carbon goals with remote monitoring and up to 80% energy savings. If we can play a part in reducing your carbon footprint and saving money on those growing energy bills, get in touch with the Quintex team today:
Many schools today, whether they be private or mainstream, are taking much more responsibility for their energy efficiency. Many are proactive in searching for new ways to do their bit for the environment and to lower costs, and this way of working has had an influential effect on many other schools across the country.
Children in schools are among the many that are being educated more about the impact of climate change and are expanding the way these issues are addressed in the classroom, covering topics such as global warming and air pollution. As well as this, staff are also actively searching for new ways to do their bit and take those first steps to becoming a more energy efficient school.
That’s where Quintex comes in.
Here at Quintex, we’ve carefully developed our solutions with schools, caterers, retailers and the hospitality industry in mind to not only provide exceptional new energy saving technologies, but to also ensure these solutions deliver when it comes to saving energy.
The energy used in school and university catering facilities amounts to around 10 percent of their overall energy costs. By taking the necessary steps to enhance equipment and to invest in new technologies, the energy savings could soar to up to 50%. Quintex have developed a solution to not only work towards these savings, but one that can help private schools to monitor their energy usage in their kitchens and provide a comfortable and safe environment for school catering staff.
Our Demand Control Kitchen Ventilation System (DCKV), Cheetah works to save energy by controlling the extract and air supply fans in the kitchen. Cheetah’s energy monitoring unit can meter energy usage, showing private schools exactly how much they’re using in their catering environment, and taking the relevant steps to reduce energy consumption when needed. We can monitor key system KPI’s such as fan speeds, temperature and air flows remotely for even more convenience.
As well as energy efficiency, Cheetah also works to reduce noise pollution and provides better working temperatures for school staff. The temperature in the extract ducts is also measured continuously. If high temperatures are detected, action is taken to alert the operators of a possible fire condition. Safety is one of our main priorities.
Presbyterian Ladies’ College (PLC), Melbourne is a private school which has successfully taken the steps to become 100% renewable and energy efficient. As well as educating their students about sustainability, principals of the school have also done their part to ensure the facilities in which their students are being educated are environmentally friendly and promote sustainability to the next generation.
Within the last year, the school has gone even further, now sourcing 130% of its electricity needs from renewable energy. You can read more about their impressive achievement in this article.
We’ve already helped so many schools take the first step towards an energy efficient future, and we’d love to take this journey with you too. If you’re a school looking for new and exciting ways to do your part for the environment and to save money in the process, speak to Quintex today about our energy saving solutions.
Read our case study on how we helped Warwick University Reduced save 122 tonnes carbon and £21k per annum.
Call us on 0118 973 9310 or email sales@quintex.co.uk to speak to a member of our friendly team.
Being an energy efficient school may sound like a lot of hard work. If you’re new to the energy saving sphere, making the right changes can seem like a daunting process, one that takes time, money and effort in order to see any result. However, when looking at the facts, this couldn’t be further from the truth. We’re here to help you well on your way to meeting your energy saving goals!
To get you in the right mindset, we discuss some of the misconceptions school staff may have about energy saving. As well as this, we’ll get you thinking about some positive changes you can make to your own school to be more energy efficient and save money in the process.
This first point is far from the truth! Even the smallest of actions can make a big difference, such as turning off lights and equipment when not in use. However, when you aim to save money on a much grander scale, the results can be astonishing.
Take our work for Warwick University for example, one of Britain’s leading universities. From an environmental perspective, it has policies and procedures in place to promote best practice in the area of environmental sustainability. The University has installed our Demand Control Kitchen Ventilation System (DCKV) Cheetah into three kitchens across the campus, giving a total saving per annum of over £21,000 and a 65% energy reduction!
Find out more about our work with the University here.
Not necessarily. Unless a school is built with environmental sustainability in mind, they’re often not going to be kitted out with the technologies needed to make a significant difference to their carbon footprint. Well-designed schools will more than likely hold some energy efficient equipment and follow better processes, but without taking the right actions, energy and money savings will probably not be that great.
With Quintex, we can install our advanced energy saving solutions into both new builds and existing school kitchens, bringing us nicely onto our next point…
If your school is an older building, that doesn’t mean you can’t create an energy efficient space. Some jobs will take time and work, but by taking the right steps in your school kitchen for example, you’ll be surprised at just how effective it can be.
With our Cheetah solution, we can help you save energy by controlling the extract and air supply fans in line with demand in your school kitchen. Energy savings of up to 80% are typically achieved, whether you have a brand new kitchen or an existing one. Our process is simple.
It isn’t necessary, but wouldn’t you want to know how much you’re saving from your energy saving efforts and to make sure those efforts are working? Here at Quintex, we can track and monitor energy usage in your school’s kitchen. The data is downloaded remotely and presented to you when you need it or in a report. This verifies the savings from Cheetah and identifies where further optimisation could enhance performance.
With Quintex, you’re in the best hands – with our energy saving solutions, we can advise on how to save money in your school kitchen as well as keep you updated regularly with your kitchen’s performance. We’re easy to deal with and we’ll keep you involved each step of the way.
Here at Quintex, we provide innovative solutions designed to enable energy users to meet their environmental targets, improve profitability and add value. We provide energy saving systems, energy surveys and audits, monitoring and measurement capabilities for educational institutions across the UK.
For more information and advice on how we can help your school kitchen, give the team a call today on 0118 973 9310 or email sales@quintex.co.uk.
It’s about time we all made some positive changes to the way we run our kitchens. At the peak of the pandemic, energy consumption and carbon emissions were at an all time low due to lockdown restrictions, and the effect on the environment showed us exactly what’s achievable if we all made a conscious effort to save energy and place more focus on carbon reduction.
In the past, we’ve helped many restaurants and pubs save money and energy. Roast Restaurant, for example, has achieved an 18 month pay back on their energy saving investment by converting to Cheetah, our energy saving kitchen ventilation. Roast will be saving approximately 73,631kWh and 32 tonnes of carbon per year, which equates to a saving of £7,290 and a 70% reduction in their ventilation energy consumption, overall giving the operator an impressive payback of under 1.7 years.
Imagine what you could do with over £7K in savings?!
If you’ve not yet made some goals to aim towards, now is the time to start – we’ve given you a good starting point right here! Better still, these goals are achievable and here at Quintex, we can help you reach them with our solutions.
Advancements in technology have taken a huge leap in recent years and we’re better equipped than we’ve ever been to get our kitchens up to scratch and energy efficient. Here at Quintex, we’ve created exceptional solutions to not only look after your kitchen and the environment to the fullest, but to potentially save you thousands in energy costs.
Better technologies such as our Demand Control Kitchen Ventilation System (DCKV) Cheetah cleverly work to save energy where it would otherwise be wasted. Cheetah works with your kitchen in mind and controls ventilation fan speeds in line with the demands of your kitchen. Speak to a member of the Quintex team for more information and advice.
Many kitchens aren’t running at the moment and for those with older pieces of catering equipment, reopening without fully functioning equipment could potentially be a nightmare. Before reopening, it’s a good idea to ensure all your equipment is running the best it can be and that service and maintenance has been carried out, otherwise, new equipment could be your best bet. More modern equipment will also be most environmentally friendly too!
It’s worth nothing that cheaper equipment doesn’t mean better equipment. Always make sure you look at running costs when purchasing equipment as some may be cheaper in the short term, but cost more in the long run due to much higher running costs.
This is something that many don’t think about, but how much it costs to keep equipment running each day should be a big deciding factor when it comes to energy saving equipment. Leading on from our previous point, it’s a good idea to consider purchasing new equipment if yours is over 15 years old to help lower running costs over time, and in turn, the amount of wasted energy you produce.
Without the right management, both ventilation extraction and drains in your commercial kitchen can pose a number of problems. Grease build up in ventilation systems can create fire hazards and the build-up of fats, oils and greases (FOGs) in drains can cause blockages, unpleasant smells and costly repair. Manual pump outs for drains can be reduced with an effective grease management system.
Our Grease Management Systems, Ecofix for ventilation and extraction units and Biofix for drains, were created with these issues in mind and cleverly work to tackle grease and FOG build up over time. These solutions help kitchens save energy over time by reducing how hard appliances need to work to get their jobs done. Get in touch with us to find out more about these solutions and how they can help your kitchen.
All these steps combined will help you take that big first step towards your 2050 Net Carbon Goals. These goals need to be put into place to reduce the demand for energy across the country, create a lower demand for carbon-based activities and reduce climate risks.
Saving energy is so important now more than ever, especially as many of us are working towards our Net Carbon Goals for 2050. We’ve installed our systems in over 8,000 sites and counting, saving thousands of pounds in energy costs and reducing the amount of energy kitchens use.
If you’d like to help us keep that number growing, we’d love to speak with you about how you can save energy in your commercial kitchen and just how Quintex solutions can help you get there. Give us a call on 0118 973 9310 or email us at sales@quintex.co.uk and we’d be happy to help.
According to Carbon Trust, the UK’s healthcare sector spends more than £400 million per year on energy. As well as the amount of money spent in this area, it’s also shocking to learn that a lot of this energy is wasted. There are 21,723 care homes within the UK – that’s 21,723 facilities needing help in their energy saving efforts to really make a difference, not only to the amount of money spent, but to the planet too.
The older generation and those who are more vulnerable need our help more than ever. The staff who care for this section of our population work around the clock to run a range of facilities to ensure that residents get exactly what they need when they need it. However, all that care takes up a lot of energy, with many care homes being open and functioning 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
There will always be a high demand for care homes, so it’s vital we work to make these facilities as efficient as possible. By making care homes as energy efficient as we can today, they can make more long-term savings by reducing the amount of energy that is being used.
We’re striving to make as many care homes as energy efficient as we can. We can help with our energy saving solutions to cut the costs and work alongside care home staff to see exactly where they can be saving money in their kitchen.
With many residents to look after, staff will be constantly using their kitchens to prepare meals throughout the day. In order to keep up with this, care home kitchens will need a ventilation system that can not only match the demands of the kitchen, but also work hard to save money and energy too where it needs it.
Our Cheetah system can be installed into new or existing care home kitchens, getting to work instantly. Its clever remote dial in access means our technicians can monitor fan speeds, temperature and air flow, ensuring kitchens work to the best of their ability using minimal energy.
The benefits of using a demand controlled system such as Cheetah don’t stop there; Cheetah helps to create a safe and comfortable working environment for busy staff by reducing noise pollution as well as managing carbon dioxide levels. The system also uses clever technology to detect when preventative maintenance is needed and when there is a possible fire risk.
Our team has worked hard to create a system that every commercial kitchen can benefit from. Care homes have never been more important to many of us in the UK, so we want to do our part to keep them running and keep them efficient!
Cheetah’s simplicity and intelligence continues to revolutionise how we save energy in a range of settings, with care homes being just one of many sectors we work with. If you’re ready to take the leap and work with a team of like-minded individuals committed to saving energy and taking care of our planet, then Quintex are the team for you!
Give us a call today on 0118 973 9310 or email us at sales@quintex.co.uk and we’d be happy to talk you through the next steps.
We’re always up for celebrating those days that strive to make a difference to the world, which is why today we’re celebrating Earth Day! With the first Earth Day celebration taking place in 1970, it’s grown to be such a successful event, now with over 75,000+ partners working to drive positive action in over 192 countries.
Last month, we took part in Earth Hour, where we switched off our lights for an hour in the evening to show support for our planet. Both Earth Hour and Earth Day puts nature at the centre of international conversations, showing decision makers across the globe that nature matters and urgent action must be taken to reverse nature loss.
The mission is to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide.
As always, we’ll be raising awareness and starting those crucial discussions about how we can play a part in caring for our planet. However, we don’t just celebrate the planet on Earth Day – we celebrate every day where we help many kitchens incorporate energy saving solutions into their daily processes.
By helping kitchens to save energy, we’re helping to prevent those harmful waste products from entering the atmosphere, creating efficient kitchens that save money and help the planet in the process.
Change starts with action. There are a number of ways you can do your part to contribute to the discussion and to raise awareness of Earth Day.
We’ve been doing our part for the planet since the start of Quintex, with many kitchens across a range of industries taking advantage of our energy saving and efficient solutions. Cheetah, Biofix and Ecofix each have their own ways of being efficient:
If you’d like to find out more about our energy saving solutions, get in touch with the Quintex team today by calling 0118 973 9310 or emailing us at sales@quintex.co.uk.
The 5th of March marks World Energy Efficiency Day! It takes place every year on this day in order to raise awareness of the rational use of energy. Here at Quintex, we’re big believers in energy saving solutions and ideas, which is why we want to do our part to raise awareness in changing the way we all use energy for the better.
Energy efficiency does in no way mean that we need to compromise on how we run our kitchens and businesses. Instead, it encourages us to rethink how much energy we use and how we use it, working towards new ways of optimising this usage to save money and the planet.
We all know the basics for saving energy in our homes, e.g turning off lights and electric devices when not in use, but what about in restaurant, pub, hotel, supermarket and department store settings? How can we become more cautious in the energy we use in kitchens and how can we change the way we use energy for the better?
Find Out More About CheetahAnyone who runs a commercial kitchen will be fully aware of the need for a good extraction system. It’s a requirement for all kitchens – you can’t not have one! You need to always make sure it’s working as efficiently for you and your kitchen as possible
We’ve perfected our solutions to bring businesses something fresh to help you manage your energy. Cheetah, our demand controlled kitchen extraction system, is the perfect solution to help save more energy in commercial kitchens. It works by controlling ventilation fan speeds and matching them with cooking demands, optimising energy use to the fullest.
Through using Cheetah, fan speeds are typically reduced to 40% of their normal operating speed when activity levels in the kitchen are low. At this speed, the energy consumption is only 6% of that with the fans running at 100% of their operating capacity. Significant further energy is saved by the resulting fall in demand for conditioned air supply.
Datalogging and energy saving reports from Cheetah is downloaded remotely. This can verify the savings from Cheetah and identifies where further optimisation could enhance performance.
How are you playing a part in supporting World Energy Efficiency Day?
If you’re keen to help the environment and become more energy efficient in your commercial kitchen, speak to the Quintex team. We want to help as many kitchens reach their sustainability goals before 2050! Call us on 0118 973 9310 or email us: sales@quintex.co.uk.
Here at Quintex, we’ve developed our own solution to fully support clean and safe air in kitchens, and it’s a smarter, safer and more cost effective alternative to manual cleaning.
There are four months to go until it’s Clean Air Day, but that doesn’t mean we can’t speak up about the importance of keeping our air safe and clean in the meantime!
Commercial kitchens are environments that naturally expel grease, oil and fat deposits through ventilation systems, which not only harms the environment and the air we breathe, but also poses a huge fire risk if left untreated.
A kitchen ventilation/extraction system will work to remove any irritants from the air and control kitchen temperatures. When frying and cooking food in a commercial kitchen, grease, fat and oil deposits can evaporate and attach to walls and kitchen surfaces. Not only can this cause major problems for food safety and working environments, but it can be very unhygienic too.
Poor or inadequate ventilation can lead to smokey kitchens, whereas too much ventilation will waste energy. Kitchens need the right balance to ensure the fumes and grease is being taken away as efficiently as possible. Too much air can cause fumes to spill out from the canopy causing more issues for the kitchen, and potentially diners too in open kitchens.
Ecofix, our safe, automatic and eco-friendly grease management system, provides an effortless way to thoroughly clean your kitchen’s ventilation/extraction systems.
By using advanced biological technology, Ecofix penetrates every element of your cooker extraction and ventilation unit, cleaning as it goes. Ecofix bacteria also breaks down grease in such a way that water is the only by-product that is released. As a result, it puts an end to costly and time consuming manual scrubbing procedures and removes any residual odour.
There are so many other benefits to Ecofix, including its eco-friendliness, its ability to create a safe working kitchen environment and of course, the opportunity to integrate this with the Cheetah ventilation control system.
Air pollution is often described as a ‘hidden killer’, and the campaign for clean air places a big focus on the air outdoors from road transport. However, the pollution expelled from kitchens will certainly play a part in contaminating the air with harmful particles if we don’t take the right action to reduce it.
Here at Quintex, we fully support the campaign for clean air, and it ties in nicely with our 2050 Net Carbon Goals. We aim to get as many commercial kitchens as possible energy efficient and carbon neutral by using Cheetah and Ecofix solutions, with cleaner and safer air for kitchen staff.
All our solutions have been created with the environment in mind and we strive to be as environmentally friendly as possible. If you want to join the 8,000+ kitchens with Quintex solutions installed across the UK, then get in touch with the team today on 0118 973 9310 or email sales@quintex.co.uk.