The Air Conditioning Contractors of America released Maria’s Restaurant, a guide and workbook covering commercial HVAC system design process basics. It also includes an online module.

“As a commercial contractor, I’ve seen countless system designs that have left restaurant owners with unnecessarily high utility bills. Maria’s Restaurant will help other contractors do what I do in these situations — sell energy,” said Don Langston, ACCA board chairman and president-CEO of Aire Rite Air Conditioning and Refrigeration in Huntington Beach, California. “My pitch to restaurant owners is ‘you can try to sell hundreds more sandwiches next month, or you save thousands of dollars on your utility bills by hiring a contractor who follows proper design protocols.’ It’s usually a no brainer.”

 The manual will help contractors better understand less complicated retail space designs for typical strip mall restaurants, convenience stores, small grocery stores, salons, barber shops, the association said.

“Maria’s Restaurant is an important new tool for commercial contractors,” said Paul T. Stalknecht, ACCA president and CEO. “ACCA’s new guide, workbook and online Qtech training will help contractors save small business owners significant amounts of money by cutting their energy use. This design book will also be useful for business owners, facility managers and restaurant service companies who are looking for a basic overview of the design process and equipment needs for retail outlets.