How Your Business Can Save Energy
Do you want to save energy and money for your business – check out the tips below and do so?
#1 Invest in Energy-Saving Light Bulbs
Switching from the old generation incandescent bulbs to energy-saving bulbs can save you lots of money in the long run. These bulbs use up to 80% less energy as compared to the old generation ones, one of the reasons you should consider bringing these into the business premises.
LED bulbs and fluorescents are some of the best energy-saving bulbs you can invest in today. The best thing with these bulbs is the fact that they are readily available in local supermarkets and hardware stores. You do not even have to replace the fixtures either.
These bulbs will fit in the current ones pretty well. As an added advantage, LED bulbs last particularly much longer than any other type of light bulb on the market. This is to say; you won’t have to keep replacing these only because it burnt.
Unlike incandescent, LED light bulbs do not produce as much heat, one of the factors that make them that energy-efficient. This is also one of the reasons some people choose to stick to the old bulbs since they want some of the warmth generated by these incandescent bulbs. All in all, switching to energy-saving light bulbs will see the business save lots of money in lighting and replacement bills.
#2 Introduce an Energy Management System
Conducting an energy audit in your company gives you a better chance to understand where and how energy is wastage, and even get recommendations on what to do to prevent the same. Visit Josco Energy Conference for more information. With this in hand, you can then implement an energy management system to help bring energy costs even lower.
Make it a habit of taking meter readings at least once every month, and note them down for comparison. This should give you an idea of how much energy your company uses in a month, thus allowing you to budget accordingly.
#3 Go Easy on the Air Conditioner
Air conditioners are some of the most commonly misused appliances in the office. Since air conditioners come in handy in spring and summer, it would be advisable to turn the air-con on only when needed. Many office setups will have the air-con running all day-everyday for as long as there’s a little warmth in the air.
Using a programmable thermostat that only turns the air conditioner when certain temperatures are reaches, such as 20 degrees Celsius, would help save some energy in the long run. Have the air-con turned off as soon as everyone leaves the office as well? A smart thermostat would come in handy here.
#4 Install Motion Activated Lights
LED and fluorescent light bulbs will help save some energy, installing motion sensors to activate these lights when triggers can help you drive the savings even farther. The motion sensors will help reduce instances of employees, or even you, leaving unused rooms with lights on, thus saving energy even farther.
#5 Consider Renewable Energy (Microgeneration)
Micro-energy generation provides an even better way to produce energy to be used within the company. This may mean investing in solar power or wind turbines as a way to generate electricity to power most of the office applications.
Photovoltaic solar panels, for example, use daylight to generate electricity while wind turbines only rely on wind energy for the same. Taking advantage of these will not only lower your carbon footprint but also drive energy bills even lower. The best thing with microgeneration is that you can still sell extra power generated to energy companies in the form of Feed-in Tariff.
#6 Be Careful with The Water Kettle
Most companies will have an electric hot water kettle on standby for employees to boil/brew their tea or coffee. In such instances, an employee will boil more water than he/she needs in that instant. This means lots of energy is wasted each time one boils water.
You could, however, save lots of money in the process if you sensitize the employees to boil only the amount of water they require. Boiling lots of water for all at once could also save you more in energy bills.
Boiling water and brewing coffee or tea in the workplace may even cost you lots of money in the process. Looking for other ways to provide hot water for the employees would come in handy in various applications. You can either provide a water kettle for each department, then ensure everyone is responsible for how the kettle is used. Limiting the amount of water one can boil per day, or instance can also help bring energy costs even lower.
#7 Keep an Eye on The Door and Windows
Leaving the doors and windows open can cost you a lot of money in heating and cooling bills. Should you leave the windows and doors open during winter, the central heater will work a lot harder to keep the rooms warm.
The same happens in summer. Leaving the doors open allows draughts of hot air into the room/office, making it a lot harder for the air conditioner to keep the room cool. All you need to do to save this energy is to have all doors and closed when temperatures are on the extreme outside.
If you have to open the windows, then make sure the air conditioner is turned off. This way, you’ll rely on the draughts for cooling. You could even ask the employees to put on the appropriate clothes to ensure they are either warm or cool enough while in the office.
What is your business doing to save energy?
