When you make a conscious effort to reduce your energy consumption, you are choosing to both protect the environment and to save your business money. Clients, consumers and stakeholders are increasingly favouring businesses that run as eco-friendly operations. With this in mind, green companies can boost their branding as well as act responsibly in our current climate. With a few simple steps, it’s easy to reduce energy consumption in your office.
Consider renewable energy sources
When you switch your energy provider to a renewable energy source, you’ll be saving cash and reducing your carbon footprint. One of the most popular forms of renewable energy is solar power, harnessed from the sun. Usually, this option involves installing solar panels made up of photovoltaic cells on the roof of a building. Other forms of renewable energy include wind power, produced by wind turbines, or tidal power which involves making fuel from plant matter. After the initial upfront costs, you’ll find that your energy bills are significantly reduced. There are plenty of providers out there, so it’s a good idea to get a few quotes before you choose one.
Carry out an Energy Audit
A business energy audit should be the first step carried out for businesses looking to save money on their business energy bills. This is common for many larger firms, but not many small to medium-sized companies give it much thought.
A professional can carry out the exercise, which entails a comprehensive review of your current business energy consumption. An audit enables the professional to access current systems and equipment combined with a check on any new technology likely to be used shortly.
A completed energy audit reveals how your business can reduce its energy consumption. It includes reviewing all equipment and consumables such as ventilation systems, roofing materials, lighting systems and heating systems.
Make sure to carry out the suggestions that the professional gives. These will help to reduce your business energy consumption and subsequently also reduce your business energy costs. You’ll stay in control of your energy consumption, reducing the stress of paying high bills.
Energy-saving lights
If you haven’t upgraded your lighting systems in a while, there’s a good chance that you could be wasting lots of energy. LED lights are the most energy-efficient lights currently available. LED stands for ‘light-emitting diode’. Reportedly LED lights are 90% more energy-efficient than traditional bulbs. These lights are far more durable than conventional bulbs, you won’t need to replace them so often, and you’ll find that your energy bills decrease. For the best commercial lighting solution, LED lights are the top choice.
Switch to the cloud
Older data centres can end up wasting a lot of energy; these systems will generally have cooling systems which would be considered inefficient now. Cloud computing systems remove the need for traditional servers and allow your business to save on electricity. The cloud also makes it possible for employees to work remotely from home. When you allow for remote working, your business will be decreasing utility bills and hardware costs too. By giving your staff the chance to work on the go, you’ll find that you’ll increase productivity.
Upgrade your office equipment
Perhaps your office equipment isn’t as energy efficient as it could be? When you are choosing your printers and computers, look for devices that have the energy star logo. When you look for energy-efficient products, you’ll be surprised at what a wide range that you can find. Why not buy some eco-kettles for your staff room or a water-saving dishwasher?
If your company can go without a printer altogether, this is a far better option. When staff can use the cloud to collaborate on projects, you’ll considerably reduce the need for printing anything out. Money wasted on paper costs can be put to better use elsewhere.
Consider your heating and cooling
A considerable amount of energy is wasted via the improper use of heating and cooling systems. It’s not necessary to have the heating on for the whole winter, nor to use the air conditioning for most of the summer. It’s best to only rely upon heating and cooling systems when you absolutely need them. When you use these systems more frugally, you’ll really notice the difference. In the summer, opening the windows is generally enough to keep everyone cool. (Save the aircon for those unbearably hot days)!
Turn it off
Turning off equipment should go without saying, yet the fact is that so much energy is still wasted this way. Plenty of offices will leave photocopiers and printers on standby and then go home for the evening. If you want to save energy and money, switch off every piece of equipment when you shut down the office. Turn off all lights and use only when you need to. Natural light will suffice for a good deal of the year, so it’s better to make use of it as much as you possibly can. Some studies have linked natural light to increased productivity and focus in a working environment. If you have a larger business with lots of equipment, you could set timers. Timers can allow you to shut down some of your equipment automatically. You could set timers on your photocopiers and printers for instance.
Plan a policy
It can be a good idea to plan an energy efficiency policy and monitor that all staff members are following the policy. When everyone understands the rules and works as a team, it’s far easier to put long term solutions in place. Allocate a role for each team to play in the policy and monitor the effectiveness. With a few short training sessions, you’ll ensure that everyone is clued up on going green!
Commercial energy audit
An energy audit involves a professional coming to assess your building. An auditor will be able to suggest any changes that you can make to save some energy. When you’ve implemented all of your solutions yourself, and are looking for further ideas, an audit is the way to go. For smaller and larger businesses both, you could really stand to make some green choices and savings.
Upgrade your insulation
Older drafty buildings can quickly lose heat and energy. It’s a great plan to update the insulation of your roofs, walls and flooring. You could also try using thermal strips around windows and doors to reduce heat escaping here. An energy audit could provide further advice on any drafty spots around the office.
It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to put all of these steps into practice immediately. Create a plan that prioritizes each step and go about gradually making changes. The process will be easier when you get all staff on board to chip in. To continue the theme of going green, ensure that you recycle everything possible. When you are purchasing new equipment for the office, consider second-hand options to prioritise less waste.
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