Tuesday 16 August, 2011
With energy costs steadily on the rise, organisations must
take sensible measures to cut their energy use. By following some
simple, yet logical steps, you will reap the rewards of their energy
efficiency - not only in carbon emissions but also in your back pocket.
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Make sure you are on the right electricity plan
This is the first step every business should take. It provides the foundation for any good energy efficiency plan. Many businesses are still on the 'default' rate - which is typically quite expensive. It pays to shop around and make sure you aren't paying more than you need to.
Remember, electricity is the same, regardless of where you are buying it from. The larger your business gets, the more money you may be spending unnecessarily on power.
- Lighting
To maximise natural light, try to install sky lights where practical. In cases where a light bulb is necessary, consider alternatives such as LED or compact fluorescent. To ensure lights aren't on where they aren't needed, install a motion sensor system so that lights turn on and off automatically to save costs.
Replacing the lights in your office with energy efficient globes and turning off your lights when not in use can save you as much as 80% off your lighting energy bill or as much as 7% of your total energy bill.
- Computers and monitors
If practical, turn off all PCs and monitors at the end of the day. If this isn't possible in your business, at the very least ensure staff have their monitors turned off.
Traditional desktop PCs use a lot of power - laptops are a good energy efficient alternative - and they are portable! A laptop uses between 30 - 50 watts, however if you are going to be away from your computer for a little while, put it to sleep - it will only use around 2 watts (less than 4% of the energy).
Screen savers do not significantly reduce the energy consumption as a PC will still use around 140 watts. When leaving your PC and peripherals on stand-by, they will only use around 15 watts in total.
- Change the culture
Ensure your workforce is aware of, and committed to, your energy management policy or sustainability plan. This could include creating an energy management team, encouraging staff to share energy saving ideas, establishing benchmarks or targets and regularly monitoring energy usage.
- Insulation
Insulation can drastically reduce energy costs as a result of heating and cooling. Insulation helps keep the ambient temperature at a comfortable level.
If at all possible, look at installing good insulation for your business. Insulation prevents heat, light and sound from travelling. A fully insulated office can save up to 40% on winter heating costs. Or to put it another way, an uninsulated office can lose you 40 cents out of every dollar spent on heating, no matter which heating method you use.
- Energy efficient purchasing decisions
When buying computers, monitors, printers, fax machines, and copiers, consider energy star models that power down after a period of inactivity. Using energy efficient office equipment can reduce energy consumption of individual products by more than 50%.
Heat can cause equipment failure. With power management features activated, your equipment generates less heat, so it may last longer and components that cycle, such as hard drives and microprocessors, are more reliable when power management is used.
Because energy star products produce less heat, this contributes to a cooler and more comfortable workspace and reduces air-conditioning costs. Energy star enabled equipment has the added advantage of reducing office noise levels by powering down when not in use.
- Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning is essential in most settings to ensure a pleasant, comfortable and safe work environment. In commercial buildings in Australia, 70 percent of energy usage and 63 percent of greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to be contributable to HVAC, and typically accounts for 40-50 percent of the total energy bill for businesses.
Significant energy saving design opportunities are available when starting a new business, but several possibilities to improve heating and cooling performance can also be achieved in existing systems.
Close shades during early morning and late evening to reduce heat gain from the sun, and close doors to the outside to contain air conditioning. If possible, turn the air conditioning off for the last hour of each work day.
You can save considerably on the amount of energy consumed for each 1°C of cooling or heating that you do without. For example when it's 35° outside, setting your air conditioner to around 25, rather than say, 22, can save a significant amount of energy without your system running constantly. Balance between comfort and efficiency of the system.
- Refrigerators and other business equipment
Ensure the office fridge is maintained regularly, particularly the door seals. Ineffective door seals can add more to your power bill, as cool air escapes. Place reminder notices next to appliances such as photocopiers requesting staff to turn off the appliances at the end of the business day.
- Power factor correction
Installing power factor correction equipment can reduce your monthly electricity charges and help beat hidden running costs of motors and other inductive loads - such as transformers and ballasts. These capacitors work as silent reactive power 'generators' so the total amount of electricity demand decreases.
- Get an energy assessment / audit
A personalised energy assessment can uncover unique ways your business can save money, above and beyond generalised tips. The cost of the energy audit is often covered in the resulting energy savings gained.
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