Top 5 Ways To Save Energy In Your Business
I’m often get asked for quick win energy saving solutions.
The truth is that there aren’t many quick wins and those that exist require some investment and effort to execute.
Nonetheless, the payback on these actions usually outweighs the cost and resource time and therefore they make perfect business sense.
In this article I describe my top 5 ways to save energy in your business.
1. Look at your lights
Replace all halogen 50W bulbs with 35W alternatives and de-lamp areas that are over-lit. This is such a simple action and doesn’t need to be done in one big swoop. Instead, I recommend purchasing 35W bulbs next time you are in the market and then whenever your old 50W bulbs blow you can switch out to 35W alternatives. You can get super cheap 35W halogens from any DIY store or just simply buy them online.
In terms of delamping I recommend first checking the luminence level. Any areas that are over 500 lumins can be delamp to 300. You will need a light meter to check this. Here is an affordable one from Amazon.
To find out more on energy efficient lighting have a read of this article.
2. Powerflush your heating system
You should be doing this at least once a year to remove sludge and limescale in your radiators and thereby improve efficiency.
Related to this I have also seen great results from vacuum cleaning ceiling-mounted AC units to clean the filters. I recommend doing this once every three months.
3. Test your BMS
If you operate a building management system then I would encourage you to conduct weekly tests to see which settings are optimal in terms of energy usage. You can track variations in your system setup by logging meter consumption on a week-by-week basis.
Small tweaks here and there can save loads of energy.
4. Upgrade old equipment as and when they fail
Upgrade old plant equipment such as motors with variable speed drives and old boilers with a modern condensing alternative.
If you have a three-phase supply you may want to consider voltage optimisation – its expensive but can pay back quickly.
5. Employee engagement
Finally, engage people in the organisation to help in your energy reduction commitment. See how you can do just that through a green team.
Getting people to shut-down / turn-off small appliances and electronics when not is use can save a significant amount over the year.
Alternatively you may want to consider automatic shut-down software to turn off computers and printers in the evening. Here is a detailed article on automatic shut-down technology.
Best of luck with your energy saving exploits!
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