You work hard to make your small business prosperous. You hire brilliant and hardworking staff members, research the needs of your clients, put together great products or services and carefully select your advertising purchases. Yet, you still want to manage your general operating expenses very carefully. Besides checking the best business energy prices & plans that are available in your area, you have to look out for how and how much energy you use for your everyday business operations – here are some things to look out for.
Sensors
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends installing what are called “occupant sensors”. These can tell if someone is present in a particular area, and will turn on lights and other key devices when they are. If no one is in the area, all of those things are temporarily turned off, saving electricity and therefore money. It is a great way to use technology to automate the reduction of your energy bill. Besides, with these sensors in place you don’t have to hound employees about turning off lights when they leave rooms. Instead, you can hound them about things like how many new client accounts they’re supposed to bring in.
Energy Star
In the United States, the gold standard of energy efficiency is Energy Star. It is a certification system developed over 20 years ago by the EPA and the Department of Energy. Individual items that get the Energy Star label use 20% to 30% less energy than mandated by the government. Buying all devices with this certification means that your small business will save cash every time they are used.
LED Signs
Many businesses still use signs lit by incandescent bulbs, which can cost a lot throughout business hours. However, if you can have a sign made that uses LED lighting instead, you will save approximately 90% in lighting-related operation expenses. Additionally, LED lights last for years, so you’ll save on replacement costs as well. You can let your customers know about the change, and will find that many of them appreciate your use of eco-friendly technology.
Lower Water Temperatures
Heating water for use by employees can be quite costly over time, and tends to be unnecessary. After all, an employee washing their hands is only going to want warm water, not super-hot water. If you spend the money to get the water really hot, the employees are going to turn on cold water at the same time to moderate the temperature, so you will have wasted money. The same holds true for other tasks like washing dishes by hand, something good employees undoubtedly do after each office party. Lowering the temperature on your water heater reduces your expenses without having an adverse affect on anyone.
Check Your Insulation
No matter what the size of your small business is, a lot of your heating and cooling money is literally going through the windows. Improper insulation results in leakage of the heat you pay for in the Winter and the air conditioning you pay for in the Summer. If you can set aside a little time to have an HVAC professional come in and inspect your building, they will tell you how your insulation can be improved. Getting those improvements done will be an extra expenditure at first, but from that point forward you will save money on climate control every day, providing benefit to your small business’ budget.