If you are a business owner, you understand the critical importance of keeping costs under control. Especially now when energy costs are experiencing monthly increases and represent a greater portion of your budget. With this in mind, we offer our business energy-saving tips to help your business lower costs and be more energy efficient.
Not every suggestion will apply to your specific business but each tip does offer the potential to lower your energy bill quickly. While some recommendations require modest investments, many cost virtually nothing to implement and are generally feasible for most business types.
To reduce business energy costs, there are a variety of different factors you should consider. Above all, you need to assess the needs of your employees and customers when it comes to making a plan that helps you cut energy costs where you need it the most.
Let’s discuss the business energy-saving tips that will help you lower costs and increase energy efficiency.
Business Energy Saving Tips Overview
Business energy-saving tips come from the perspective of the way you currently operate your business. In other words, what you and your employees do on a day-to-day basis for the business has a great influence of resulting energy costs.
Business owners need to ask themselves when they are looking to be more energy-efficient, specifically how and what they are currently spending on energy. In short, if you’re not aware of how you are spending on energy, then you need to re-examine exactly how to track your business energy usage
Furthermore, if you and your employees constantly waste energy usage within your business, you are adding unnecessary costs to your budget, placing unnecessary demands on the environment, and having a serious negative impact on the way it functions.
We have classified our business energy saving tips into four main categories: management review, illumination, office equipment, and building. So, let’s discuss in detail.
Business Energy Saving Tips - Management Review
Business owners know that it takes a lot to run a successful business. Besides your investments in reducing your energy costs, education, training, information, and advice will also help to improve your bottom line.
Energy Policies
Use excess energy during the low or off-peak times, to take advantage of lower utility rates. Also, encourage your employees to follow this same work scheduling model.
Energy Audit
Do an energy audit of your business to ensure that you are using energy efficiently. For example, utility companies often offer this type of program to help identify areas to reduce energy usage.
Energy Advisor
If your business is located in a deregulated energy state, consult en energy broker to reduce energy rates through competitive auction bidding. Another is to reduce employee “footprint” in the office by technology of remote working and virtual meetings.
Energy Saving Tips - Illumination
Depending upon your type of business, illumination can represent a significant portion your energy bill. So, here are tips to help lower your monthly bill.
Change Light Bulbs
Replace incandescent light bulbs with ENERGY STAR qualified compact LED lamps (CFLs), which cost about 75 percent less to operate and last about 10 times longer.
Upgrade Lamp Tubes
Convert to T8 LED lamp tubes with solid-state electronic ballasts that are more efficient than older T12 tubes with magnetic ballasts.
Turn Off Lights
Remind employees to turn off lights (and other equipment) when not in use. Additionally, install switch plate occupancy sensors to automatically turn off lighting when no one is present and back on when people return.
Business Energy Saving Tips - Office Equipment
You can lower your electric bill by being disciplined in how your employees use their office equipment when not in use.
Energy Saving Equipment
Acquire energy-saving business equipment as needed. For instance this could include equipment such as a paper-saving printer, efficient desk lamps and other similar tools.
Turn Off When Not In Use
Switch off all printers, scanners, computers, microwaves, lights, air conditioners, vending machines nights, weekends or holidays. Specifically they continue to draw power even if they are plugged in.
Put Computer To Sleep
The hibernate feature in laptops and desktops allows you to save your existing work while in a low-power mode. What’s more, schedule it to switch to hibernate mode after working hours and weekends
Energy Savings Tips - Building
If your business resides in a commercial building, your electricity and gas represent over 90% of your total energy consumed. Accordingly, review the following energy-saving tips to help you manage your energy bill.
Control The Temperature
Controlling the room temperature is crucial to saving on your energy bill. For example, a 1-degree increase in setting in winter will use 15% more energy. While every 1-degree decrease in summer will use 10% more energy. Moreover, there’s no need for areas rarely used, such as storage, cleaning rooms, etc.
Natural Lighting
Artificial lights consume energy, while windows and skylights are free. So, use maximum daylight and use artificial lights in areas that are dark. In brief, natural light is your best friend toward your business being more energy efficient.
Efficiency Maintenance
In summer, block direct sunlight, conversely in winter let it in, while covering windows at night. In addition, seal windows and doors with weather-stripping or caulking to prevent leaks. Also, add insulation to reduce energy loss, paint the roof with heat reflective paint, and consider investing in solar panels (often with tax incentives).
HVAC Tune-Up
An HVAC system will decline in performance without regular maintenance. Specifically, schedule “pre-season” tune-ups before each cooling and heating season. As a result, your business will save energy and money, and extend the lifetime of the HVAC system with minimal investment in maintenance.
HVAC Filters
Just like an auto, regularly clean or change the HVAC filters every month during peak cooling or heating seasons. When used, more air and particles are being run through your HVAC system. As a result, dirty HVAC filters cost more to use (lower energy efficiency), overwork the equipment (shorten the life-cycle), and result in lower indoor air quality.
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Mother Nature Helps
Shady tree landscaping outside your office will protect it from intense sun during summers and chilly winds during winters. As a result, the tree shade will protect your office from the sun’s rays, resulting in less demand for your HVAC cooling system and lowering energy costs.
Business Energy Saving Tips Conclusion
However you choose to implement these business energy-saving tips, you’ll be able to see immediate savings in your business energy bill. What’s more, people often underestimate the little things they do at the office, so energy awareness and conservation are very important for long-term success.
Not only will you be reducing your energy costs each month, but you’ll also be promoting a healthy work environment for your employees. In other words, your business benefits from many different aspects the longer it can sustain energy efficiency.
Call us at (888) 920-2434 or Contact Us to discuss how our Energy Broker Services can help your business take control and lower its electricity and gas costs.