LAKEWOOD RANCH, FLA.—A century is a long time to be wasting natural gas while cooking but entrepreneur and appliance industry veteran Ray Williams is beginning to put a stop to it. Ray Williams, CEO of VT Burner, along with Brenda Williams, President of the company, have developed a burner for ranges, woks, stock pots, griddles and charbroilers that is 60 percent more efficient than burners used today. The greater the F&B operation, the greater the potential for energy savings. Less gas burned is better for the environment and kitchens do not have to be cooled as much, adding further to energy savings.
Cast iron burners with cutting-edge infrared burner technology from VT Burner radiate centralized heat, keeping it focused on distributing more heat across the cooking surfaces rather than moving up the sides of the pan to heat the air. The VT burner is the first of its kind with infrared power that does not use fragile ceramic material to crack and break. The patented fin technology improves heat absorption to reduce gas consumption. “With today’s burners, about 60 percent of the gas escapes into the environment,” Ray Williams says. “Our technology is 50 to 60 percent efficient. Most burners are 30 to 40 percent efficient.”
Adds Brenda Williams, “[Ray] wanted to capture the heat beneath the pot. Our burner is almost like a jet engine.”
NRA Kitchen Innovations Award Winner
VT Burner introduced its new burner technology four years ago and won a Kitchen Innovations 2019 award from the National Restaurant Assn. but then Covid-19 came along to slow its rollout. Today, hoteliers can find an increasing number of cooking equipment manufacturers utilizing VT Burner technology.
With the price of natural gas following the price of oil, investing in highly efficient burner technology makes sense. “Now there’s a huge need for gas-efficient technology,” Brenda Williams says. “The utility and energy companies are pushing it in a big way.”
VT Burner has a gas consumption calculator on its website that allows one to calculate the savings gained by investing in one or more of its burners. Ray Williams says large companies can expect to save up to millions of dollars by eliminating inefficient burners.
Financial incentives for burners from VT Burner are available in select markets. Contact Brenda Williams at bw@vtburner.com or (941) 541-1882 for details.
