It is in everyone’s best interests to reduce their energy use at home and at work, but if you own a business, you can do far more. Not only is it more cost-effective to lower the energy used in your business, but it’s also better for the environment.
Here are 10 ways to reduce your energy usage.
1. Involve Your Employees
Without the actions of your employees, it won’t be possible to do much with your energy. After all, they’re the ones who are using it in many cases and if they aren’t interested or motivated to help reduce the use, there won’t be much progress.
To encourage everyone to work toward a common goal, explain why you feel it’s important to lower energy usage and then set a goal. Offer a reward for the entire company when they hit that goal, such as a company field trip, or similar. It can also help to have employees offer ideas on how to save energy, rather than simply telling them what to do. Get them involved and you’ll see some drastic improvements.
2. Maintain Your Air Conditioning System
Air conditioning is often a major part of the energy usage in a company. Whether you use an HVAC system or separate systems, the amount of energy required in order to maintain the temperature can be quite the expense. Fortunately, there are a few ways to reduce it.
First, be sure to have your annual maintenance scheduled. This will ensure that the system is running correctly and is fully functional. You will also want to be careful to change out or clean your filters regularly to prevent the system from working harder in order to cool the space. This will lower energy use and also improve your air quality throughout the building.
You should also consider using a smart thermostat, which will give you some energy-saving features. These thermostats only adjust the temperature when there are people around and give you a clear view of how much energy is used each day, via an app.
3. Adjust Your Lighting
Whenever possible, you should try to use natural light. If you have enough windows letting light in, you can make use of this and turn out the overhead lights. However, only do this if there really is enough light coming in, otherwise your employees may suffer from eye strain.
Change your lightbulbs to LED if you can. These are far more efficient, using around 80% less energy than incandescent bulbs. They also last longer and provide just as much light as the other types of bulbs. If you choose daylight bulbs, they replicate natural light and can be quite pleasant for workspaces.
Finally, be sure the lights are turned off when everyone is out of a room. While you can use sensors for this, be sure to set them to go off after a decent amount of time. Otherwise, you’ll have people trying to use the lavatory while waving to keep the lights on.
4. Unplug Unused Equipment
The easiest way to ensure your office equipment isn’t sucking up power while no one is using it is to plug everything into power strips and then turn these off once the workday is done. If no one is using the equipment all day, the machines can be turned off. For example, a computer monitor can burn through roughly 100 watts of energy per day and that can add up over time, particularly if you have multiple monitors.
Other equipment should also be considered. If it’s plugged in, it is pulling some power. This is why turning off a power strip is a good way to eliminate excessive power bills. You can disconnect multiple machines (turn them off correctly first) all at once with this method.
Consider assigning someone to go through the building at the end of the day to ensure nothing is left on. This person will be responsible for turning off all those power bars and ensuring the lights are out.
5. Use Energy Efficient Appliances
Whenever you need to make a new purchase for the business, do your research and select the most energy-efficient options available. This goes for everything in the building, from a refrigerator or ceiling fan to printers and computers. You can end up saving loads of money by changing everything over to a lower energy version.
Once you have these appliances, be sure to set them to use power management features when possible. For example, a computer can go into sleep mode if not used in five minutes and this will reduce the amount of power it requires. Many electronics have a sleep mode and some will even turn off after a certain amount of time. There are many ways to help reduce the amount of power that your appliances use, so be sure to select the machines that will save money.
6. Switch to Laptops
If you currently have desktop computers in your business and there are multiple of them, it may be time to switch to laptops as the computer become out of date. With just a laptop computer, you can save around 80% of the energy used, as they are far more efficient.
You’ll immediately notice a drop in the amount of energy usage when you switch to laptops. To boost the efficiency even more, consider charging laptops for periods of time and then unplugging them to use the battery for a period of time.
7. Care for Your Fridges
Whether you have a single refrigerator in the staff room or multiple for a restaurant, it’s important to care for them.
Refrigerators should be cleaned at least once a month, if not more frequently, to help reduce the energy used. It’s also best to have a highly efficient refrigerator that is maintained at least once a year to ensure it is always running at its most efficient. The service will include cleaning and belt adjustment, as well as lubrication if necessary and topping off the refrigerant.
Always be sure your refrigerator and freezer doors are closed tightly. If they start to seem like they’re unsealed and you can feel cold air emitting from around the doors, you will need to replace the seals. Any escape from cold air is more energy that you’re burning through.
8. Reduce Your Overhead Costs
If your business is one that is mainly conducted over the phone or on computers, you may not need a huge office. People have been working from home more and more due to the pandemic and in most cases, they are more efficient when working in their home office. You may be able to open a smaller office and only have a few people there, while the remaining work from home. The smaller the space, the lower the energy cost. After all, it’s far cheaper to cool a building that is only two rooms than an entire floor or two.
9. Maintain Your Heating System
Like the air conditioning, your heating system needs to be checked on every year by a professional technician. They’ll clean the system and check that the boiler is working well. If it needs any repairs or upgrades to help it become more energy-efficient, the technician can do that, as well.
Again, the smart thermostat can be helpful here. Even without it, you can lower the temperature by a few degrees and greatly improve your energy efficiency.
10. Have an Energy Audit
An energy audit shows exactly where your electricity is going. You’ll find that most utility companies provide audits and once you know exactly where your energy is being used, you’ll have an easier time of adjusting the usage.
It can be helpful to post on the wall what the current energy audit shows and then have another one done after six months to see how far you can reduce it. This can be extra motivating for your employees, as well. There are tangible results and this helps tremendously when everyone is working hard to keep energy usage down.
Are you attempting to reduce your energy usage? Whether your goal is to reduce your company’s impact on the environment or simply to save money on utility bills, there are many ways to achieve your goals. It just takes some careful thought and the involvement of those working for you.
Are you ready to start saving money? Mitchell’s offers maintenance packages for all your major appliances, including air conditioning systems, refrigerators, and boilers. Contact us today to learn how we can help you.