As a key member of ENERGY STAR® Manufacturing Partner of the Year company Aga Foodservice Equipment, Stellar Steam achieves its energy efficiency primarily through one innovative and highly effective piece of engineering.

    Stellar boilerless steamers utilize a patented heat-exchange system that exposes incoming water to outgoing hot condensate. This exposure increases the temperature of the incoming water, allowing it to be turned into steam with less energy. Since conventional steamers use almost all of the energy they consume to bring water to 212° F., the Stellar design drastically reduces energy consumption and can save operators approximately $1,000 in energy costs per year per steamer, according to Mitch Cohen, vice president of cooking system sales for Stellar Steam, Eloma combi ovens and Infinity Fryers.

    In addition to reducing energy consumption, Stellar's exclusive heat exchange system also cuts back water usage and drainage fees. Not only does the system heat incoming water, it cools the outgoing condensate, allowing that water to be sent directly down the drain instead of being dilluted with additional water. Though these savings are not factored into ENERGY STAR calculations, they can provide operators with additional cost reductions totaling hundreds of dollars a year or more.

    It should be noted that Eloma combis are not ENERGY STAR certified, and that is for one reason: no ENERGY STAR category currently exists for combi ovens. Eloma equipment, though, uses a heat-exchange system similar to the one employed by Stellar, helping it achieve a similarly high level of energy efficiency that has been certified by third parties.

    "In tests conducted separately by Southern California Gas and Pacific Gas & Electric, results demonstrated that Eloma combis are highly energy efficient, enough so to be eligible for rebates from those and other utility companies," Cohen explained.

    Offering such energy and utility efficient features, he added, has become more than a marketing strategy for Stellar, Eloma and AFE. It is, in fact, one of these companies' defining characteristics.

    "At all our shows and in all our marketing materials, we communicate that we are an environmentally friendly company," Cohen stated. "The ENERGY STAR logo is on everything we print. Every new model we develop, every product change we look at from here on out, will be ENERGY STAR compliant."