A Collection of Tips and Articles That Allow You to Reduce Energy Costs in Your Office
When you’re running a business, every penny counts, and every penny is accounted for therefore, it’s a great idea to save money where you can. One area you may not have considered is the energy costs for your office
Believe it or not, you can save a lot of money by reducing the amount of energy you use, especially in areas where there is a lot of energy that’s wasted.
For Example:
You own a warehouse that operates 7 days a week.
Instead of having the warehouse use lighting during slow periods, you can use, “energy-efficient lighting.”
There are lighting systems on the market today that will dim or even turn off a light when there’s no movement for a certain period. When movement is sensed the light will turn on. You can use this same setup in your office. It’s a simple way to save energy and can save a lot of money in the long run.
There are a number of other areas you can look into as well. Let’s go over a few of them next.
Tips To Reduce Energy Costs in Your Office
Let’s go over some tips that can help you save energy in your office.
Simple Energy Saving Steps:
There are a few simple steps you can take to reduce your energy cost. Sometimes the steps are so basic that they can be easily taken for granted.
Such actions are as simple as turning off any lights when not in use. You can also switch off any unit that draws power when it’s not running or scheduled to run.
Air Drafts:
There are many areas you may not have considered that have air drafts. For example, the electrical outlets can have air flowing through them. Many small drafts in your office can add up and lead to more energy required to cool and heat the building.
Using plastic covers made for electrical outlets that don’t have anything plugged into them, plus using insulated foam placed behind each cover, can reduce the amount of draft flowing through the outlet.
Windows, doors, and moldings are areas where drafts can flow. There are various ways to seal these, including silicon, door sweeps, and weather stripping, making a significant improvement.
Perform a Professional Energy Audit:
An energy audit will reveal many of the issues already discussed and offer insights for the areas to focus on and reduce high energy usage.
At times, you’ll find government incentives to perform energy audits. It’s another way to reduce their carbon footprint. Companies and consultants that deal with energy audits will have the latest information for your area. Also, keep in mind that many of the improvements you make are tax-deductible because it’s for your business.
Buy Energy-Efficient Devices:
If you replace your outdated equipment, you’ll be reducing your energy usage and monthly costs. Some equipment may have a small saving, but when you combine replace a lot of your equipment at the same time, you may see a difference in your energy costs. A major replacement such as your heating and cooling units will show a significant difference simply because they use a lot of energy.
Some of the equipment you can look into include:
- Coffee makers
- Refridgerator
- Water coolers
- Air conditioner
- Water heater
- Furnace
- Computers
- Monitors
- Printers
- TV Displays
- Lighting Systems
- Etc.
Use Energy-Saving Features on All Applicable Devices:
Many of today’s devices and appliances come with energy-saving options. When a device is using this option, it may be running at less than optimal levels, but it’s good enough for the work it’s performing. It would be a good idea to review the equipment you have with energy-saving options to decide if you will set up this feature.
Use Natural Light:
If you have the option, you can use natural light to save on energy costs. You can open blinds more often or install skylights if that’s possible, which allows more natural light to shine in and, in many cases, enhance the appearance of your office.
You can also look into film for your windows to allow light in and reduce the heat coming in during the summer and UV rays. Glamour Glaze goes into detail about this process and the options available.
Maintain AC and Heating (HVAC) Units:
Heating and cooling units can draw a lot of energy. That’s why it’s important to keep them maintained to run at optimal levels while using less energy.
Here are a few things you can look into:
Change the filters regularly. Plugged filters will cause reduced airflow and make motors use more energy for the extra load.
Make sure your refrigerant charge is at the right level. Too much or too little will make your AC unit work harder without being efficient.
Clean all heat exchange units. For a heat exchanger to work effectively, it must have sufficient airflow without restrictions.
Repair any leaks in your air ducts and insulate exposed areas so that the air doesn’t lose its temperature during delivery.
Use Technology To Reduce Energy Usage:
Many systems use technology to reduce energy costs. Some of these include smart thermostats that will reduce usage during off-hours and increase them during peak hours. Many of these can also be controlled using your cell phone.
You can also reduce your energy cost using the lighting system mentioned at the beginning of this article. In addition to sensors, you may want to switch to LED or CFL lighting, which lasts longer than conventional lighting and is usually brighter, and cost less to use.
Renewable Energy:
You may want to look at renewable energy, which is becoming more affordable than it was years ago. The market is becoming more populated with renewable energy and technology.
Naturally, the technology is advancing, becoming more effective and affordable—solar panels for heat and others that produce electricity show up on rooftops and fields worldwide.
Many wind farms are being built globally. Some governments offer incentives for businesses that take advantage of renewable energy.
How to Get Employees to Save Energy:
As a business owner, you may be aware of the energy your business is consuming.
Even if you are energy conscious and your employees don’t care about saving energy, you’ll still have wasted energy, which is bad for the environment and costs you money.
The articles below will give you tips and insights on how to get your employees to save energy.
5 Ways to Engage Employees in Energy Savings
11 Employee Engagement Ideas for an Energy-Efficient Office
Energy-Saving Ideas in the Workplace:
Below are a few more articles to look into, and I feel these articles offer some value to help you save as much as you can on your energy usage and costs.
SRP: Energy-saving tips for businesses
22 Ways to Save Energy in the Workplace, Office, or Factory
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You can check out X, YouTube, Google News, and Google Search for the latest information.
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