Induction cooking in commercial kitchens.

Hi Tamar, Chatham University did something wonderful that we have been using as a reference https://www.edenhall.chatham.edu/food-farm Mithun and Interface Engineers https://interfaceengineering.com/uploads/case-studies/Chatham-Case-Study.pdf - super great Our small school serving 1/3 of what you are looking for has been doing well since end of 2018 – after some usual protests (whining) by the chefs and a burnt pot while melting chocolate. Now they love it https://www.aia.org/showcases/183606-sonoma-academys-janet-durgin-guild

And in case this didn’t go through Microsoft in Redmond is building a 17 building campus that is all electric – which we are working on along with NBBJ, ZGF, LMN - and we have all had to work with Mcrosoft and Compass on including induction equipment. Each of us has had to vet this for serving various amounts of employees – including the amount you are looking to serve. Hope these are helpful to support your effort! Very exciting Tamar! From:

In final stages of construction, MIT's new Vassar Street dorm has a dining hall which will be all electric. The only hang-up that was eliminated from the project was the chargrill.  MIT didn't want any gas in the new building. We worked with Colburn & Guyette Food service consultants, Kevin Sullivan. My take on the chargrill equipment is that serving less meat is an added plus to all-electric commercial kitchens! The dining hall is smaller than your 1800, I believe it seats 300 or so (the dorm has 450 beds - so not the entire dorm at once). Next to the dining hall, there is an adjoining "Country Kitchen" that has six induction cooktops, refrigerators, sinks, etc. for student cooking when the dining hall is closed. The ability to cook for oneself in a dedicated space was very important to the students as most of them would be moving from "cook for yourself" dorms into this new dorm which doesn't have kitchens in each "cluster" or 36 students.  Would be happy to chat more. Alison Nash AIA, LEED AP ID+C, WELL AP, CPHC
Associate, Sustainability Practice Leader
DiMella Shaffer, Boston, MA

I know Google has an all electric kitchen in at least one of their Bay Area kitchens, and they are pushing forward with it for new projects in the Seattle area so it must have been successful We are in design for Swarthmore College, it is the only kitchen and dining for the whole school, no combustion for anything new on campus, kitchen or otherwise. The Chatham case study someone mentioned previously was a good example to take the chefs etc to so that they felt more ok about it

Late contribution - we recently helped the NYC School Construction Authority on an all-electric kitchen approach. It’s part of a larger low-energy school effort which they intend to make public later this year. Happy to chat further. Dan Piselli, AIA, LEED AP, CPHD Director of Sustainability, Senior Associate FXCollaborative Architects LLP D +1 646 292 8137 | T +1 212 627 1700 F

There is so much great informations here! I am going to be writing a feature for BuildingGreen on electrifying commercial kitchens and would love to learn more about your experiences. If any of you have time to chat, can you email me at brent@buildinggreen.com?   Thanks! Brent

Hi Tamar, Sure! Of course, I have to figure how all of this is going to come together first. The good news: since it will be a feature with some case studies, it should provide some good background and context. Are you looking for any information in particular? Brent

Reading back through this great thread... wondering if there are any K12 schools out there with induction cooking equipment that are willing to share lessons learned or that have case studies available?  Thank you!

Hello,  Our studio has designed an 800 person student housing and dining complex that includes a commercial grade kitchen for the dining hall. It is currently in construction at the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia.  The project is pursuing Passive House certification. Workshops were held with the university's kitchen team to explore moving from natural gas cooking equipment to an all electric solution. The team was successful in getting buy-in for all electric equipment except for some wok cooking stations. This resulted in tremendous GHG savings for the overall project, and enabled the project to meet its Passive House design requirements. Special discussions were held with the International Passive House Insitute to resolve how to model the commercial grade kitchen.  I am happy to connect you with the project architect if you have specific questions. Please feel free to email me directly: kathy.wardle@perkinswill.com Thanks,  Kathy