American West Restaurant Group to save $2mn with IoT energy solution

American West Restaurant Group is implementing a new strategy that uses the Internet of Things (IoT) for energy management.

The QSR company is set to save $2mn on energy use over five years as a result of the technology transformation.

AWRG is the third largest Pizza Hut franchisee in the US, and the largest in California and Utah, while its other brands also include Muscle Maker Grill, Fresca’s Mexican Grill and Jojo’s Pizza Kitchen.

See also:

Ingersoll Rand: how to use IoT to become more energy efficient https://www.energydigital.com/sustainability/ingersoll-rand-how-use-iot-become-more-energy-efficient

Energy companies increasingly adopting IoT solutions https://www.energydigital.com/sustainability/energy-companies-increasingly-adopting-iot-operations

Read the latest issue of Energy Digital magazine https://www.energydigital.com/magazine/energy-digital/august-2018

AWRG partnered with EcoEnergy Insights, which provides IoT and analytics-driven business outcome services, and developed a customised programme to help the restaurants save energy.  

Eco Energy Insights works to provide sustainable solutions for enterprise-wide energy operations and efficiency management. The company works across various industries from water utilities, telecoms and hospitality to manufacturing and finance. Founded in 2008 and based in Georgia, US, the business claims to have utilised Big Data to deliver a total of over 800mn kWh of energy savings to its clients.

The new IoT solutions is set to be implemented across hundreds of AWRG’s locations in California and Utah. The company set the goal in 2015 to reduce its average monthly energy use by 15%. So far, the initiative has been tested across an initial eight restaurants with monthly savings as high as 18% in some cases.

Jerry Ardizzone, President of AWRG, said: “We were convinced the answer was in advanced analytics, not in retrofitting, as in, modification to existing restaurants that may improve energy efficiency or decrease in energy demand.”