Energy supplies: Life's a gas for Calor

For many rural pubs, energy supplies can be a problem. LPG is one solution.

City folk often have little comprehension of the trials of country life. Whole swathes of the country are deprived of a mains gas supply, for instance. How do they manage?

You can go all-electric of course, but professional chefs can have a hang-up about controllability - in which case they might turn to bottled gas - strictly known as LPG or liquified petroleum gas.

Calor is one of those brands that have become a generic term for their category. But while spoilt townies instantly associate Calor gas with a wet weekend spent in a draughty caravan in Rhyl, caravanning and camping accounts for only half of Calor's business. Another large section of customers are rural caterers, including many pubs.

Calor prides itself on reaching the kitchens - and central heating systems - that others can't reach. One of the most remote destinations for its comprehensive service network is the Glenelg Inn on the shores of Glenelg Bay opposite the Isle of Skye on the west coast of Scotland.

The setting for Ring of Bright Water, that film about otters, Glenelg is a four-hour drive north of Glasgow and sits below the 1,100ft Mam Ratagan mountain pass.

It's not exactly handy for the motorway as you can imagine. Once they have got there, visitors are rewarded with some of the most stunning scenery and unspoilt environments in the UK - but there's no telephones, no television and certainly no mains gas.

Despite that, for the last 17 years the Glenelg Inn has been owned, run and built into a thriving business by the inaptly named Christopher Mains.

"We are in a remote location but that's what attracts our visitors," he says.

"Our guests appreciate the tranquillity. They're mostly regular customers, holidaymakers from the UK who want to get away from the pressures of modern life."

The Glenelg is an inn in the true sense of the word. As the social hub of the local community it offers accommodation as well as drinks and conviviality for visitors and food is an increasingly important part of its revenue.

The kitchens are run throughout the summer season by Yvonne Winn and Gilles Contier. Both insist on the control and cook quality which they say only gas provides so all the Glenelg Inn's catering equipment is LPG-powered by Calor.

And as well as panoramic sea views the pub's seven letting rooms all have LPG central heating and water heating.

With a commercial Calor installation there's no running out to change gas cylinders. It's no different to using mains gas. At Glenelg two 1,000-litre gas tanks are installed at the side of the main building and are topped up every three weeks by Calor.

"The delivery tanker has to climb over the mountain pass just like everyone else and whether it's rain, sleet or snow, we've never once been let down, ever," said Christopher.

"That's crucial for us because our business, our guests and our local community all depend on that reliability."

For Calor's Barry Ohrman, the Glenelg Inn demonstrates the advantages of LPG as a fuel, as well as the necessity of dealing with an established supplier.

"Such businesses simply cannot tolerate failure," he said. Calor does not wait for customers to order more gas but makes a regular visit to top up the tanks.

The company is able to gauge the capacity required and include a large margin of error to allow for the odd occasions when weather conditions delay the tanker on its route to remote spots like Glenelg.

• The government has produced a free leaflet for pubs giving advice on all aspects of energy saving as part of its Hospitable Climates scheme, backed by the British Institute of Innkeeping and the British Beer & Pub Association. You can sign up to the scheme through www.hospitableclimates.org.uk

Getting connected to LPG​

• An LPG supply from a reputable company such as Calor is fully serviced. You don't have to worry about it running out or have to change cylinders. Tanks are topped up every three weeks but have four weeks worth of storage
• Tanks come in every shape and size and many are buried underground in pub gardens and car parks
• LPG is about a third of the cost of electricity. Electricity costs roughly 8p per kilowatt per hour while LPG costs 2.5p to 3p per kilowatt per hour
• Contact Calor on freephone 0800 626626, or visit its website at www.calorgas.co.uk

Refrigeration expert David Harris offers some simple advice to publicans for the efficient energy management of fridges, chillers and freezers.​

Experience shows that small business energy bills can often be reduced by between 10 per cent and 20 per cent using a variety of techniques, many of which involve little or no expenditure.

Refrigeration is the main energy cost in many catering outlets, accounting for up to 60 per cent or 70 per cent of total energy consumption. Walk-in refrigeration stores, display cabinets and free-standing units are expensive to run.

Savings made on energy go straight to increased profit and are usually easier to achieve than increasing sales.

Here's some of the things you can do:

• Take care not to exceed the legal minimum storage temperatures beyond practical margins as excessive cooling will inevitably increase electricity consumption.

Most chilled display units will have night blinds. You need to ensure all of them are operational and that they are shut as soon as possible after the pub has closed.

Rather than using the electric defrost routines in the cabinets, defrosting should be allowed to occur naturally relying on the temperature of the surrounding air. Clearly, the condition of the produce cannot be placed at risk, so trials will be needed. If you have an electricity contract which gives you a lower rate in the evening, take advantage of this and carry out as much of the defrosting as is practical during this time.

If your refrigeration plant employs conventional self-acting thermostatic expansion valves, it is recommended they are replaced with electronic expansion valves. These give higher energy efficiency and a survey should be carried out to determine where they can be fitted, starting with the largest units.

Power optimisers should be fitted to any free-standing display cabinets and refrigerators to improve their efficiency under low load conditions. It would also be wise to fit a seven-day time switch to drinks chillers so that they automatically turn off when the pub is closed.

Simple but regular preventive maintenance can have a major effect on energy costs. For example, even a partially blocked condenser can increase usage by 30 per cent. By performing minor lubrications, replenishing refrigerants and conducting some small soldering operations you will save yourself time, effort and money in the long run.

Another major contributor to wastage which often goes undetected is the ambient temperature that your fridges and freezers operate in. In the UK refrigeration systems are generally designed to operate in conditions up to 32oC. Once this temperature is exceeded, the unit will be working harder and taking longer to reject heat from the condenser. If ambient temperatures reach 40oC it is unlikely that any significant refrigeration would be occurring, although the unit would continue to run. It is essential therefore to ensure the rooms where you have your units are properly ventilated.

In order to track energy consumption, meter readings should be recorded monthly to monitor consumption and act as a cross-check on invoices. The simple technique of "rolling trends" is recommended. Average consumption for the last 12 months is calculated for each meter point every month. Whether average consumption is g