Eureka moment for McDonald’s

Global fast food giant McDonald's is nearing an annual CO2 reduction of over 250 tonnes, it has been claimed, thanks in part to a series of new heat recovery systems.


McDonald’s has installed 24 of the award-winning Eureka Permanent Transfer Systems – with more reportedly still to come – pushing the chain towards the ‘Magic Million’ kWh per annum saving on their water heating costs.

Manufacturers of the Eureka PTS claim the system, which uses captured heat from refrigeration units to heat water to temperatures up to 60 degrees Celsius, is like no other system on the market.

The Eureka purchase is the latest news to come from a McDonald’s group who, with 32,000 restaurants in over 100 countries, are increasingly eager to promote their green credentials. Across the UK, all restaurants are now fitted with energy saving lightbulbs, and earlier this year across the Atlantic, the franchise opened their second corporate-owned “Green restaurant” in North Carolina.

Managing director of Password Services, the organisation responsible for installing the Eureka systems, Mark Purnell, said: “We are fitting around two Eureka PTS systems a month in McDonald’s outlets with some very good results.

“Stores are showing large reductions in electrical or gas consumption, depending on fuel used to heat water, and should see a payback on the investment within three years and most within four.

“We are finding that more than often the fitting of the Eureka PTS system brings additional benefits over the financial ones: the carbon footprint is reduced, McDonald’s management and staff perception is enhanced and the refrigeration works more efficiently.”

Peter Schroeder, environmental consultant for McDonald’s Restaurants Ltd echoed Mr Purnell’s statement, adding: “Overall electricity consumption in December at a monitored site where a Eureka system was installed was one of our best, at over 20 per cent below 2008 levels. The Eureka PTS system will be a major part of this.”

Sam Plester

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