Energy costs are a necessary evil when it comes to business. We’re using energy on a vast scale, and we often don’t even give the monthly bill a second thought. However, there are plenty of things we could be doing to offload the cost. If we just took a little extra time to think about how we consume energy on a daily basis, we might be surprised at how much we can save.
This is an exhaustive topic, and we haven’t got the time to explore it fully today. What we can do, however, is offer a few particularly useful tips and ideas to get you started.
Energy Efficiency Audit
The first and most obvious thing to consider is doing an energy efficiency audit. There are plenty of companies out there that will gladly assist in getting this done for you. Once the audit is complete, it’ll give you a clear picture of your expenditure in this area. You can then use this information to adapt your energy usage in order to save money.
Energy Star Appliances
There are a certain number of appliances on the market that are classed with the Energy Star label. In order to receive this label, the appliance must adhere to strict guidelines about energy use. So, when you’re buying an Energy Star product, you’re getting an energy efficient appliance that should save you money in time. If you can replace your old appliances with Energy Star replacements, you should notice a difference.
Clean and Repair
If you’ve only recently noticed a significant increase in energy consumption and energy bills, it might be that you need to clean your appliances or carry out HVAC repair. Blocked or damaged units need to work twice as hard as fully operational units, and this means you will see an increase in energy usage. Ideally, cleaning away dust and debris is all you need to do, but for older appliances, there’s a chance you will need to get someone to repair them. Hopefully, this will solve any problems, and you needn’t spend more than you have to.
Efficient Designs & Practices
The amount of money you spend on energy needs isn’t totally related to equipment use. The way in which your offices are designed can make a huge difference in the overall cost. It can affect everything, from how much heating is required to how much air conditioning you need to use. By looking to solutions like ITE Projects data centres or even a total office redesign, you should be able to maximise energy efficiency.
Minimise Artificial Lighting
The more money you spend on artificial lighting, the worse it’ll be for your business bank account going forward. This is where those efficient designs come into play once more, as you could implement a skylight instead. Any type of design that encourages more natural light and less artificial light is going to be beneficial. And, it should be noted that far too much money is wasted on lights being left on for no reason. Turn them off and be sure to train your employees to do the same.
Switch Your Supplier
It seems obvious, right? If you’re spending too much on energy, it only makes sense that you’d want to think about switching your supplier. But, this goes back to what we talked about earlier. Businesses tend to accept energy costs as a necessary evil. Instead of exploring their options, they take what they’re given. If you take a minute to compare the different energy suppliers out there, you might just save a lot of money. Don’t gloss over this important consideration.
