The Value of Efficient Equipment
Energy efficiency is important for operators who want to do more with less.
Jul 14, 2026 | 3 min read
This article is brought to you by Merrychef.
Convenience store operators know every penny matters.
Despite rising in-store sales and basket values, the average convenience store lost 7 cents per inside transaction in 2025, according to the NACS State of the Industry Report® of 2025 Data. Sales growth has been offset by rising facility and operating expenses.
Energy is one of the largest components of direct store operating expenses, after wages, credit card fees and repairs and maintenance. Last year, utilities cost the average store $5,030 per month, according to the NACS State of the Industry Report.
Those costs are just one of the reasons that energy efficiency is becoming a bigger focus for operators.
“It’s not just about cost,” said Garamy Whitmore, general manager of Merrychef U.S. “It’s also tied to how they’re thinking about running a more sustainable operation. What we’re seeing is a clear shift toward high-speed, ventless cooking solutions that let operators do more with less.”
Whitmore said that Merrychef’s ovens have an advanced air-cooling system that pulls in cool air from the front and keeps their exteriors cool to the touch.
“You're not pushing a lot of that heat into the store, which then the operator would have to evacuate somehow,” Whitmore said. “So that also contributes to a lot of energy savings.”
He added that Merrychef’s high-speed ovens have an eco-friendly standby mode, where they maintain temperature with lower fan speed and the door closed. “You are going to be saving a lot of energy at that point,” Whitmore said.
The efficiencies can extend to making things easier for workers, Whitmore explained.
He said Merrychef’s high-speed ovens can be scheduled to preheat to a certain temperature at a certain time and switch to a different temperature automatically.
“If you've got someone coming in really early in the morning, that oven can already be hot and ready to go,” Whitmore said.
Sometimes the key to doing more lies in having a clear understanding of when resources will be needed, explained Merrychef’s global marketing director Helen Stone.
“We've got diagnostics on the oven so they can see when that oven is being used at peak times during the day,” Stone said. “So for some people that have got two, they know they don't need to switch a second oven on until later in the day.”
This is the second article in a two-part series from Merrychef. Read about how the right kitchen equipment can help manage the labor of foodservice in part one.
