Smart devices are quickly becoming an indispensable part of life inside the baking shop as they are on the outside. For in-store ovens, smart tools are being developed to make them more efficient and easier to operate for consistent results. Some of the industry’s leading technology suppliers share their solutions.
Baking in-store not only brings the entire process in view of the consumers but also invites a warm connection. High-quality results will, naturally, only consolidate this relationship. To achieve this, there is a long list of requirements that in-store ovens should meet.
Smart baking is green baking: WACHTEL
WACHTEL considered the must-have technology features in modern bakeries and incorporated them into its in-store oven, the PICCOLO PRO®.
It incorporates the IQ TOUCH control system as an integrated panel or as IQ TOUCH MULTI, which operates multiple ovens. The IQ TOUCH can save and run up to 999 automatic programs, with up to 10 steps each. Its utilization is intuitive, similar to that of a smartphone; baking programs can be automatically synchronized across multiple ovens. It is built with a ‘power pilot’, a feature that limits kW consumption for capping peak usage. The IQ TOUCH can also be connected to third-party software, such as Shop-IQ.
To ensure product quality, WACHTEL’s in-store ovens are equipped with its IQ TOUCH control as standard. It features an energy manager and it can be paired with the WACHTEL REMOTE tool to connect all ovens in all the branches. The specialist explains: “With the WACHTEL REMOTE software, the most important operation and consumption data (e.g. energy consumption) can be read and analyzed deck- and oven-specifically. Consequently, this management tool sees itself as an essential building block for pivotal, future-proofing process optimizations within the operation.” The WACHTEL REMOTE also offers a service and maintenance tool that provides the baker with an overview across the business of all significant cycle-led maintenance parameters, error messages, life cycles, and version updates. “Information about a pending or recommended service is given automatically. The right spare parts can be ordered directly with the software as required with just a few clicks of the mouse,” WACHTEL details.
With the trend for green electricity on the rise, WACHTEL focuses on optimizing electric ovens for this market segment, with improvements to temperature control, steam generation and insulation technology. More than 80% of the ovens made by the company are electric deck ovens, to answer demands for sustainability.
“Baking has always been an energy-intensive business, with in-store bakeries making especially high demands – an in-store baking oven often accounts for 40-45% of the electricity bill for the retail outlet,” WACHTEL underlines. This was the driver for its R&D to focus on optimizing energy consumption. The PICCOLO PRO® has several ‘eco-functions’ helping it save energy, including ‘smart start’ (automatic preheating), ‘standby eco’ and ‘eco safe’ – which automatically decreases the temperature when it detects unplanned interruptions to the baking program.
The result: the PICCOLO PRO® earned WACHTEL an energy-saving certificate from the independent certification body VDE. “We became the first and, so far, only oven manufacturer to be awarded a VDE energy-saving certificate for our new PICCOLO PRO® in February 2021,” the company shares, as its multi-zone baking technology can save up to 33.6% electricity, compared to previous-generation ovens. The VDE certification means that the oven is eligible for any subsidies available in Germany.
Depending on the type of product, baking program and throughput, as much as EUR2,500 can be saved every year, per oven, respectively CO2 savings of 3,210kg.
“Baking has always been an energy-intensive business, with in-store bakeries making especially high demands – an in-store baking oven often accounts for 40-45% of the electricity bill for the retail outlet.“
The article is part of an extended feature, which was originally published in [BBI 1 – 2022]. Read the full article in the magazine:
