The McDonald’s in
Piscataway installed LEDs, replaced T12 fixtures
with T8 lighting and installed five new HVAC units.
The energy efficiency improvements are expected
to save $9,481 each year. Photo by Daniel Oines.

T8 lighting; LED screw-ins; packaged roof-top HVAC
units

Independently owned McDonald’s improves bottom line by cutting energy costs with Direct Install program

Background

McDonald’s, the world’s largest quick service restaurant, has set a corporate goal of increasing the energy efficiency of company-owned restaurants 20 percent by 2020. While significant, the goal does not apply to the more than 3,000 franchisees that operate McDonald’s in the United States.

To increase energy efficiency at franchised locations, McDonald’s is working to improve new restaurant construction standards. McDonald’s is also incrementally improving the efficiency of kitchen equipment, which franchise owners purchase through approved suppliers to ensure all safety and quality standards are upheld.

McDonald’s franchisees make their own purchasing decisions when it comes to replacing their heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment or installing new lighting. Replacing this equipment with more efficient alternatives presents a significant opportunity for energy savings. In an average McDonald’s, HVAC equipment accounts for 20 to 38 percent of the energy consumed, and lighting is estimated to account for as much as 23 percent.

The Singelyn family have been franchise owners of a McDonald’s restaurant in Pistcataway for the past three decades. More recently, the family began to expand their operations to five more locations in northern New Jersey.

In 2014, David Singelyn attended one of McDonald’s quarterly training workshops for franchisees. He learned that financial incentives and technical expertise are available to restaurants that make energy-efficiency improvements through New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program™ (NJCEP).

Improving the efficiency of the Piscataway McDonald’s lighting and HVAC equipment, Singelyn realized, could result in major cost savings and environmental benefits. “We’re always looking for collaborative ways to grow our business and improve our relationship with the neighborhood such as through community affairs, energy efficiency and going green,” he said. 

We’re always looking for collaborative ways to grow our business and improve our relationship with the neighborhood such as through community affairs, energy efficiency and going green.

David Singelyn
Owner/Operator

McDonald’s of Piscataway
1301 Stelton Rd
Piscataway, NJ 08854

Solution

Following the workshop, Singelyn turned to the NJCEP Direct Install program. Direct Install is a turnkey solution that provides a free energy assessment and incentives that cover up to 70 percent of the cost to replace inefficient equipment. The program makes it easy and affordable for small businesses to upgrade to high-efficiency equipment.  

Tri-State Light & Energy, a participating NJCEP Direct Install contractor, was tasked with determining which energy-efficiency measures would be cost effective at the Piscataway location. They replaced the lighting throughout the restaurant and installed five new, high-efficiency rooftop HVAC units.

“Four of the HVAC units were 20 years old. They were ready to be replaced but, when paying the full price, we didn’t want to replace them until they were broken,” Singelyn said. “Obviously, paying only 30 percent of the project’s overall cost was appealing.”

NJCEP incentives provided $59,731 of the $85,331 total project cost. The upgrades were estimated to save the restaurant an additional 42,811 kWh and 3,059 therms per year, totaling about $9,481 annually.

Singelyn plans to make further energy-efficiency improvements at the family’s restaurants in Ledgewood, White House Station and Little Ferry. He is also looking for ways to educate franchise owners and McDonald’s suppliers about the program to ensure other McDonald’s locations benefit from the NJCEP incentives.