Upgrade your commercial kitchen with rebates on water-efficient equipment from the Tampa Bay Water Wise program. You can save water — and you may save money on your utility bill — by installing water-saving dishwashers at your restaurant or food service establishment. Your facility may be eligible for pre-rinse spray valve and other rebates, so be sure to check those out too.
To be eligible, restaurants and food service facilities (for example, assisted living facilities, schools, care facilities, hospitals) must be considered large establishments with a seating room for at least 150 guests.
See detailed general and documentation requirements below.
Restaurants and other food service facilities use a significant amount of water. According to the U.S. EPA, kitchens account for about 50% of total water use by restaurants. By replacing existing, non-Energy Star certified dishwashers with Energy Star certified Conveyor-Type Dishwashers, businesses can save $1,500 annually from increased water and energy efficiency, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Only property owners listed in the county property appraiser’s records are eligible to receive rebates unless an authorized representative is designated by the property owner through a general release form. You may download a general release form here.
The existing washer cannot be an EPA Energy Star certified model. To estimate the water use of the existing dishwasher, assume it uses 1.1 gallons per rack for single or multi-tank conveyor washers. Estimate the number of times the washer runs each day, for each dishwasher that is being replaced. This will yield the total number of gallons of water used per day by the existing dishwasher(s).
An EPA Energy Star dishwasher can be estimated to use 0.70 gallons per rack for single-tank conveyor, and 0.54 gallons per rack for multiple-tank conveyor washers.