It is imperative for any business to keep its outgoings under control. But while you’re thinking that you’ve got it all covered, you probably don’t know that you can slash your utility bills by 10-30% just by making smarter choices! Don’t look away just yet, because you don’t have to compromise on comfort, quality, or style.
Since lighting plays an important part in any establishment, we’ve got some amazing tips to help your business save money in this area. Read on!
1) Avoid Over-Lighting
Having proper lighting in your business establishment doesn’t mean you illuminate a space more than is absolutely required. In fact, over-lighting creates a poor visual environment, giving rise to problems such as glare, eyestrain, and headaches. This can lower productivity and also lead to other health problems in the long run.
In addition to this, over-lighting raises installation costs unnecessarily. While it is an obvious wastage of resources, it also connects more load to the grid, which results in higher system peaks, subsequently raising energy bills.
Get your office or warehouse lighting plan reviewed or designed by a professional. You might want to consider high-end trimming to reduce the likelihood of over-illumination. The strategy helps deliver the right amount of light when and where needed, thus preventing energy wastage.
2) Use a Lighting Control System
There are several types of lighting control systems available, all of which are designed to help consumers conserve energy and reduce their electricity bills. The simplest of all is dimmers- they allow indoor lights to be dimmed. This reduces wattage and output, and thereby decreases energy consumption.
Timers are programmable modules, allowing you to choose on what days and at what hours of those days you want lights to be turned on. Occupancy sensors are a combination of ultrasonic and Infrared sensors, that detect activity in an area depending on sound, heat, and motion. Motion or occupancy sensors, in combination with a receptacle or plug-load control, turn off lights and discontinue power to plugged-in devices when there’s no one around.
You can also implement demand-responsive lighting. This strategy can help you reduce your business’ lighting-related energy intake by 16% during peak times. As a reduction in power usage is triggered automatically via signals from the power system, you won’t have to be vigilant about saving energy all the time!
3) Encourage Green Practices
If you don’t already have policies advising and encouraging green practices in place, start with looking at efficiency issues and developing an action plan to combat energy wastage. Get a team together to conduct assessments, help implement policies, and encourage staff to stick to action plans.
The minimum you can do is to put up stickers and posters near desks, switches, and office machines to remind employees to conserve energy. If you must buy office machines, go for energy-efficient models; second-hand might come cheap, but will eat away at your money in the form of higher electricity consumption, repairs, and maintenance!
Before shutting down for a long break, double check all plug points. Turn off refrigerators, and coffee and vending machines too! Consider offering incentives to employees who are readily making the switch.
4) Carry out Regular Maintenance
Light fittings can gather dust and grime over time, which can eventually lead to as much as 30% reduced output! This can deprive you and your employees of essential light and consecutively, take a toll on productivity. So make sure light fittings in your establishments are cleaned at least once every 6 months. Depending on the type of your setup, you may need to get light fittings cleaned every couple of months.
Schedule cleaning routines such that they don’t interfere with those of your employees. Do ensure safe practices and refrain from skimping on hiring experienced labor for such tasks.
5) Switch to LED Bulbs
LED (Light Emitting Diode) bulbs are semiconductor devices, emitting light upon activation. LEDs are able to produce light by consuming comparatively lower energy than their counterparts. In other words, they minimize wastage of energy and help you make major savings on your electricity bills. What’s more, LEDs have a significantly longer lifespan than other bulbs!
In a commercial or industrial setting, LED bulbs have further cost-saving advantages like producing focused, white light, generating less heat, requiring zero to no maintenance, being breakage resistant, and more.
If swapping out all the bulbs in your office space with LEDs might not be feasible due to budget constraints, just replace ones that you keep turned on the most. You can gradually change the others!
Lastly,
6) Purchase Energy Wisely
Apart from understanding lighting and LED basics, getting electricity and natural gas at lower prices can do wonders for your business. Businesses located in deregulated markets can easily switch from their utility provider to a retail energy supplier! This can directly translate to cost savings and price protection. Depending on the provider you choose, you can also get access to latest technology and better customer care.
Be sure to carefully consider pricing and plan options offered by each provider. Also look into credit ratings and choose a provider that is well established and financially stable.
A good idea is to turn to solar energy for your business set up. Installing solar LED lights and solar systems can earn you a federal tax credit and you’re guaranteed to recover the costs over time. Solar power also comes with a long-term price certainty, protecting you from policy and regulatory changes and rising costs!
Conclusion
It’s fairly easy to combat energy wastage without compromising, isn’t it? With these energy saving tips by your side, we’re sure you’re going to make some huge savings on your electricity bills!