Paezeta Restaurant does not only serve amazingly good food, it also runs on solar energy to make its operations sustainable and environment friendly. Located in Lupang Arenda, C6 Road, Taytay in Rizal, South of Manila, the restaurant was established in 2020 and from the beginning has run on solar energy.
The restaurant proper has three floors: the ground floor is where compact but well-equipped kitchen; the second floor is the main dining area that has a breathtaking view of the Laguna Lake, and the top floor (skipping the third) is where the solar PV panels are installed and also functions as a roof.
By request, diners can have their meals on the top floor and see the expertly installed solar panels that is the source of all the electricity that powers Paezeta’s lights, electric fans, refrigerators, freezers, and exhaust system. Paezeta’s system was installed by WeGen and consists of 30 solar PV panels that produce 11.1 kWp daily.
Restaurant owners would do well to make the shift to solar because it will definitely bring down their electricity costs and ensure that the restaurant won’t fall victim to brownouts that can lead to wasted food when refrigerators and freezers stop running. Solar power empowers restaurants against the high costs of electricity and possible blackouts during bad weather like typhoons.
Solar PV panels also make good roofing material! Instead of putting up a separate roof for its fourth floor, Paezeta constructed its solar PV system in such a way that the panels also function as the roof itself. This is a cost-efficient measure that also looks impressive even from an aesthetic point of view. The panels also serve as a cooling system: there are studies that show that homes that have solar panels reduce the overall indoor temperature by as much as 35 percent because the panels absorb light and block out the heat.
Paezeta is also committed to sharing its story with customers who see the solar panels. The food servers say that many customers who dine-in or order food to go frequently comment on the solar panels that can be seen quite prominently from the street outside.
“We tell them about why we have the panels installed and what benefits we get from getting our energy from the sun,” said Rona Paez, restaurant owner, and manager.
Many restaurants are often caught at the losing end during power outages. The freezers and refrigerators can only keep cool long enough to stop the food they contain from spoiling. Customers also cannot stand dining in areas that don’t have air conditioning or even just electric fans.
With solar, restaurants like Paezeta are able to cut the length of power outages or eliminate them totally. This is especially true in restaurants that maintain solar PV systems with batteries – they have power 24/7 even when the main grid is down.
“We rely on our refrigerators to keep our fresh ingredients fresh. We get our fish direct from Mindoro, and it’s a point of pride for us to serve the best ingredients. We are only able to do this if we’re able to store our fish, meat, vegetables correctly in our five refrigerators and freezers,” Paez said.
Paezeta also has a solar water heating system and is very useful for the kitchen. Running restaurants is energy and water-intensive, and Paezeta relies on its solar water heating system for cooking and cleaning.
“We like being a solar-powered business. It feels good to know that we cook and serve great tasting food using clean energy from the sun,” Paez said. #