Thermostat Controls Help Arby’s Franchisee Cut Costs

Arizona Republic:

An Arby’s restaurant franchisee tried everything from reminding employees to shut off air-conditioning at night to covering programmable thermostats with lockboxes to reduce monthly electric bills that were as much as $4,000 per restaurant.

But someone always forgot to shut off the air or would poke a straw or toothpick through the lockbox on the programmable controls to lower the temperature.

So the restaurants got stricter about controlling the air-conditioning, which is the biggest energy drain in the Valley.

The restaurants now use Web-based controls accessible only to top managers, ensuring the air is on only during business hours and never gets cranked too high. Those moves saved $800 in a month at one location. Read more.

Photo: Tom Tingle / The Arizona Republic.