Until this year, Bassam Odeh had no way of knowing whether an employee at his fast-food restaurants had left open the door to the freezer or the walk-in cooler.
Now he gets a text message whenever that happens.
Joseph Harberg, a partner with Dallas-based Current Energy, the company that outfitted Mr. Odeh’s restaurants with sensors, said that food service restaurants have different needs than ordinary buildings, where lighting and air-conditioning tend to account for 75 to 80 percent of power use.
“When you get to food service and food sales, air conditioning and lighting really account for 25 to 40 percent of your electricity spend,” Mr. Harberg said. Refrigeration is a big extra expense.
