Recurring business energy costs are a necessary evil for small businesses. Unfortunately, it’s still one of the last areas organizations consider when it comes to reducing expenditure – but it should be at the top of the list. There are many ways you can save energy in your workplace, and most energy-saving tips require more behavioral changes than equipment changes.
In this post, we’ll talk about how small businesses can reduce business energy costs using 9 simple but effective energy-saving tips. And don’t worry! None of these tips include working by candlelight or on a manual typewriter.
Let’s get started!
Energy-saving Tips for Reducing Business Energy Costs
In any workspace, the most important step you can take to save energy is to avoid using it when you don’t need it. Employees usually leave their mobile devices plugged in or forget to turn off the air conditioning before leaving. So, training people to be conscious of business energy costs and ways to conserve energy is just as important as turning off the lights or enforcing energy-saving practices.
Saving energy not only reduces energy costs but also helps to create a more energy-efficient environment and lower the carbon footprint that your business contributes to the planet. But how can small businesses reduce energy expenditure while maintaining the same work environment and productivity?
Saving energy can feel like a daunting task since you’re also trying to maintain the same company standards. Fortunately, there are many technological advances in the green industry and emerging business practices to help reduce spending and energy use.
Here are 9 energy-saving tips for small businesses:
1. Perform a Walk-Through Energy Audit to Assess Your Energy Use
The first thing you should do to cut business energy costs is to evaluate business practices and employee habits that consume lots of energy. Find out if you keep the lights on at all times when the building is empty or how many hours a day the lights are on. What kind of lighting are you using, and what temperatures do your employees thrive in.
You can perform an energy audit to determine your energy consumption and how to reduce it. You can opt for free energy audit services in which a professional inspect your location to check for energy-saving opportunities, air leaks, and insulation issues.
2. Reduce Peak Demand
One of the most effective ways to conserve energy is to reduce your peak demand. This period refers to the hours in a day when your energy usage is at its highest. For offices, this typically falls between 9 am to 5 pm. You can make changes by running heavy equipment in earlier or later hours to reduce business energy costs.
3. Turn Off Lights When Not in Use
This tip might seem like a no-brainer, but believe it or not, lights are the biggest contributors to energy wastage. People leave the lights on in bathrooms, conference rooms, and even idle spaces no one uses. If you want to keep every corner of your office lit, use sensor lights that automatically turn off when they’re not needed.
4. Use Natural Sunlight
If you’re fortunate enough to have a workspace with an abundance of natural light, take advantage of it. In areas with long periods of sunlight, you might not even need to turn all the lights at all as long as you have windows in place. You can also use passive solar heating to cut business energy costs during winters.
5. Switch to Energy Efficient Lighting and Equipment
Traditional lighting designs are out-dated and consume a lot of energy to increase your utility bill. Older lighting designs are inefficient, and you should replace them with more eco-friendly and cost-efficient options. Even though efficient lights are more expensive than conventional lighting, they will save you more in the long run.
Secondly, computers and office equipment such as printers and photocopiers can contribute up to 50 percent of your office energy use. One great energy-saving tip is to have employees use laptops instead of desktops. Laptops consume a lot less energy than desktops and can also run on battery power for hours.
6. Power Down Computers and Equipment When Not in Use
If you aim to stick with computers, have your employees turn them off when they’re not working. By enforcing the habit of turning off and unplugging as many devices as possible at the end of the day, you can cut back energy consumption. This tip applies to coffee makers, microwaves, and other office appliances.
7. Prevent Phantom Energy
Phantom energy refers to the energy plugged-in equipment consumes when it’s not in use. A great energy-saving tip is to switch off or unplug printers, screens, projectors, and photocopiers. You can simply flip the main power switch off to shut down several devices simultaneously.
8. Program Your Thermostats
This energy-saving tip is incredibly relevant to workplaces with 9-5 timings. You don’t need air conditioning after everyone has gone home. And even during business hours, you can use programmable or smart thermostats to manage the temperature at all times. Smart thermostats can automatically control heating and cooling as per requirement.
9. Talk to Your Employees
Your employees might be able to pinpoint more things around the workplace that are wasting energy. Talk to them about saving business energy costs and introduce energy-saving tips that they can start following right away.
Conclusion
Energy conservation and efficiency enhancement are some of the most trending topics in the business world today as industries are looking to reduce business energy costs and maximize their profits. You can employ several of these energy-saving tips at your workplace right away.
For more business news, emerging technologies, and trending business practices, visit Percento Technologies today.
by Bobby J Davidson
We love our company and we love what we do. Check out the ‘Why Percento‘ page to learn more: Love of Technology and Business! As the President of Percento Technologies International, I provide day-to-day leadership to the company’s senior management and I am personally involved in the strategy, business development and sales activities of the firm.
The company was founded in 1999 with the purpose of providing a one call source for organizations in need of Enterprise IT Consulting and Management. We also provide a line of products in the boutique Cloud Server space with a touch of high-end website strategy consulting and design services. We personalizes the IT Service experience with a team approach, working with clients from diverse sectors of industry, including energy services, financial, legal, entertainment, healthcare, hospitality, retail and general and/or corporate business. percentotech.com/contact