Restaurant Kitchen Equipment Basics: Understanding BTUs

When shopping for restaurant kitchen equipment, a standard abbreviation you will come across (often attached to specific appliances) is BTU. What do these three letters represent? Can they help me at all? What does it tell me about the equipment? Here are a few basic facts about BTUs:

What Do the Initials BTU Represent?
BTU stands for British Thermal Unit. It is a unit of measure for thermal energy (heat) and one of the principal specifications used for gas-powered appliances. British thermal units represent the quantity of gas-powered output a piece of restaurant kitchen equipment has, being scientifically defined as a unit of energy required to increase the heat of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.

What Products Have BTU Information?
BTUs are standard for most commercial restaurant kitchen equipment. These appliances can include gas char broilers, fryers, ranges, and more. In most situations, kitchen equipment distributors will provide specific BTU information for each particular device. For instance, a countertop gas griddle may offer both the burner BTU and the total BTU for the product.

Why Is BTU Information Important?
For first time buyers of restaurant kitchen equipment, all the various product information can be very overwhelming. However, it is imperative to pay attention to the BTU measurements, as this can offer you a general sense of what to anticipate for each product’s cooking power. Not only that, but BTUs are also crucial to consider when working with high temperatures or when you need faster recovery time frames. While there are some exceptions based on equipment configuration, a general rule of thumb with BTU levels is that the higher the BTU level, the higher the heat output from the equipment.

How Do BTU Levels Help Me?
While higher BTU levels will never hurt your quality or your production speed, it will affect your costs. Due to this, it is essential to consider the BTU levels when shopping for your kitchen supplies. The higher prices will stem from two primary areas. These include:

• the higher the BTU, the higher your energy bill will be; and
• the higher the BTU, the higher the cost of the equipment (in general).

The main thing to take away from higher BTU levels is that, while they offer better cooking efficiency, faster and more precise cooking times, and an increase in overall kitchen production, you will also have more substantial costs to combat with as well.

Are BTUs a Universal Measurement?
A British thermal unit is a non-metric form of measurement used in only a few specific countries, one of which is the United States. Unfortunately, there is no universal agreement between nations on how this measurement is defined. Therefore, depending upon the country of manufacturing and the context of the measurement, units used can vary.

For more information about how British thermal units affect your commercial kitchen equipment, contact the experts at Gator Chef today by calling 1-888-944-2867. The knowledgeable product consultants are always there to help and can answer any of your BTU questions.