If you ask small business owners to name their number one unpredictable expense, many will give you the exact same answer: energy costs. Quartux estimates that small businesses across the country spend more than $60 billion a year on energy. Most of this energy is consumed in the form of electricity. So what can a company owner do? Start choosing energy efficient practices from the list now to reduce your small business energy costs.
How can I save on energy costs in the office?
There are many ways to save electricity in an office and most can be done with small changes in employee behavior. Often the mere fact that your staff know that you intend to be more aware of energy costs and ways to save is enough for them to be aware and careful about this as well.
In case you’re not sure where to start, we’ve covered some of the most effective energy saving business tips to help you boost your cost savings. On the job site, the main thing is to avoid using energy where it is not completely precise. The following office energy saving tips can help you and your staff know when and how that might be happening.
11 tips to save energy in small businesses
1. Get an energy audit.
An energy audit can help determine your baseline energy usage and provide a clear outline of how to save energy at work. Many electric utility companies offer free audits. Then, a professional will go to your business and carry out a complete inspection of your location to check if there are any air leaks, insulation problems or opportunities to install low consumption lighting.
Pro Tip: Be sure to contact your local utility company for a free audit, not your energy dealer.
2. Reduce peak demand.
One of the best ways to save electricity in an office is to reduce demand peaks. The sentence “maximum demand” refers to the hours of the day when energy use is maximum. Peak demand hours tend to be normal business hours (9 am to 5 pm). You can reduce your demand over this time by staggering work hours/start times, running heavy equipment and factory equipment throughout the night and early morning hours, and conserving energy throughout the day. of the day
Quartux is one of the renewable energy companies in Mexico for industries in general that manages to make these same industries take advantage of these CFE tariff schedules and charge their battery systems with energy when it is cheap (base schedule) to later use it and replace consumption at expensive times (called “peak” by CFE) where more than 40% of the receipt is charged.
Quartux is a Mexican energy storage company that changes the consumption curve and replaces expensive energy with cheaper and cleaner ones thanks to its customized control software for each client.
With this type of solution, the client forgets about any interruption in the network since he has a backup system that protects the user from blackouts and poor power quality. All this at zero cost and with an installation and delivery period of less than three months.
3. Program your thermostats.
This is one of those office energy-saving tips that’s uniquely relevant to a nine-to-five workplace. There is no need to heat up or cool down a job site once everyone has gone home for the night. Even if your team’s hours change, using smart or programmable thermostats to monitor temperature throughout “off” hours can make a big difference.
Pro Tip: Want to know the best energy-saving temperature to set on your thermostat? Check out our Thermostat Guide to find the best temperatures for any and all occasions and seasons.
4. Turn off the lights when you are not at work.
It may seem like a no-brainer, but in a typical office, the lights stay on in areas like break rooms, restrooms, or conference rooms, even when those spaces aren’t in use. Sensor lights can help keep lights on when needed, more off when not.
5. Use energy-saving lamps.
It’s one of the simplest and easiest energy saving ideas on the job site: swap out your frequent incandescent lamps for energy efficient lamps like CFLs or LEDs. This will help you use significantly less electricity.
6. Take advantage of natural sunlight.
If you’re lucky enough to have an office space with plenty of natural light, use it! On a bright day, you may not need to turn on the lights at all in areas where windows can provide all the lighting you need. Although using passive solar heating may not seem like one of the ways to save energy at work, it does help. The fewer kilowatt hours of energy you use, the less you pay.
7. I started running the fans.
You can reduce energy use in the workplace simply and easily by running fans in offices, storage rooms, showrooms and kitchens. Fans support airflow so your HVAC unit can run more efficiently.
8. Turn off computers and other office equipment at the end of the day.
If the computers are not being used during the hours your staff is not working, make it a habit for your team to turn them off before they leave. Turning off and unplugging as many devices as possible at the end of the day is an easy way to reduce consumption. This includes energy efficient coffee machines, toasters and related appliances.
9. Avoid “phantom power.”
Spectral power is the power that is still used by equipment that is still connected but not in use. A huge tip for saving energy in the office is to have your computer peripherals (printers, monitors, etc.) plugged into power strips (also known as “surge protectors”) so that the flick of a single switch can turn off multiple power strips. devices in unison.
10. Think outside your building.
Do you have control of the landscaping around your business? If so, you have a tremendous opportunity to produce energy savings for your small business with energy efficient landscaping. Strategically planting trees to block winds or provide shade on hot summer days can help reduce your heating and cooling costs.
11. Get employees involved in energy efficient practices.
If, as a company owner, you’re looking to reduce electricity costs, that’s great! More than likely that will only get you so far. Inspiring employees to be energy efficient in their daily work lives can take some time, see our page on How to Boost Employee Energy Efficiency Practices for tips and tricks on how to raise ethics and lower energy costs for small businesses.
In addition to this, keep in mind that there may be financial incentives to better manage your small business’ energy use. Some local governments offer tax incentives and rebates to small businesses if they purchase energy efficient equipment.
Ways to save on heating and cooling costs for small businesses
Multiple companies in Mexico. They estimate that heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems account for about 40 percent of the electricity used in commercial buildings. Some of our energy saving tips for businesses can help you manage these costs for both heating and cooling.
How can I save money on electric heating and cooling costs?
The initial step is to look at the general environmental needs and uses of your office. Asking yourself (and your staff) some of these questions can be a good way to get information that will help you select the best ways to save energy at work:
Is the heating always and under all circumstances on throughout the winter? Are there times when you can at least run at a lower temperature or, if possible, turn off completely?
Is the air conditioning always and in all circumstances on throughout the summer?
Same with the heat: consider turning the temperature up a few degrees or turning off the air conditioning when the office is closed.
Are your employees interested in reducing your company’s carbon footprint?
Participation in a group energy project can be a team builder, particularly if some savings are passed on to the company and employees can benefit in some way.
6 Ways to Save Energy on HVAC Systems for Small Businesses
Looking at your business’ energy consumption, one area at a time, is going to help make the process of saving small business energy costs a bit more manageable. Let’s look at heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (known as HVAC) systems. Here are some office energy saving tips for your HVAC:
1. Suppresses heating/cooling loss.
One of the easiest ways to save energy at work is to look for places where heat (or air conditioning) can escape. There is no point in fertilizing to heat or cool the outdoors! Have the energy auditor check windows and doors for leaks.
Pro Tip: If you decide not to have an energy audit, you can check for leaks. Check out our weblog post on how to locate air leaks.
2. Install programmable thermostats.
These thermostats let you lower the temperature when no one is around. Keeping your office temperature one degree lower in the winter and one degree higher in the summer can reduce the energy your HVAC system uses by up to ten percent!
3. Regularly maintain your HVAC equipment.
Annual maintenance is standard for most equipment. Today’s air conditioners use thirty percent less energy to generate exactly the same amount of cooling as those manufactured in the mid-1970s. Even with an air conditioner only ten years old, you could save twenty percent on cooling costs by replacing it with a newer, more efficient model.
4. Avoid oversizing any replacement equipment when applying energy saving ideas on the jobsite.
Accidentally oversized equipment can add to the initial cost of capital investment throughout the installation and could result in excessive sunk costs over the life of the equipment. A certified HVAC professional can tell you if the equipment you’re using today is too big or too big, and if it’s running at peak energy efficiency.
5. Change air filters regularly.
Some manufacturers suggest changing every month, while others advise every 3 months. The key is to check your HVAC equipment’s filter regularly; if it looks dirty, no matter how few months have passed, change it. A dirty filter reduces airflow and makes the system work harder, which in turn wastes energy. Clean filters also safeguard the system by preventing dust and dirt from entering the system, which can lead to expensive maintenance costs.
6. Seal your heating and cooling ducts.
Ducts move air to and from a forced-air furnace, central air conditioner, or heat pump. If they are not sealed properly, they can be huge energy drains and waste of money. Sealing and insulating ducts can improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling system by up to twenty percent. Priorities in air duct maintenance should include ducts through crawlspaces, attics, and unheated basements.
