Through the BayREN Refrigerant Replacement Program (BRRR), the owner of the Katsuya restaurant in San Francisco was able to replace aging walk-in refrigeration components with newer, more energy-efficient equipment.
For the past three years, Katsuya has been serving authentic Japanese cuisine in San Francisco. When owner Calvin Chang took over the restaurant, the walk-in refrigeration system was already nearing the end of its useful life. Over time, the aging equipment struggled to maintain safe temperatures and ran continuously, 24 hours a day, driving up energy costs and putting business operations at risk.
BayREN's swap out refrigerant program covered 80% of the project cost, making the upgrades affordable and saving the restaurant thousands of dollars annually.
“There were times we almost had to shut down because the old equipment couldn’t keep temperatures low enough,” Chang said. “Without this program, it would have been very hard to afford the upgrades we needed. Now that I can see the equipment isn’t running constantly anymore, I know it’s going to help with our bills. We’ve been seeing about $300 in monthly savings.”
In addition to upgrading the equipment, Calvin completed BRRR maintenance training, which taught him how to perform simple but important maintenance tasks. By staying proactive, he can help keep the system running efficiently, reduce the risk of costly breakdowns, and protect energy savings for years to come.
Katsuya’s experience demonstrates how BRRR helps small businesses make critical refrigeration upgrades that might otherwise be unaffordable.
BayREN is a regional collaboration between the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties.