One of the most unpredictable but necessary business expenses of many business owners is energy costs. Most of this energy is consumed through electricity. Therefore, what do you do as a business owner to help save on energy costs? To save electricity in an office is possible with small changes among staff behavior. Thus, ensure that your employees know that you intend to be more conscious of energy costs. To jumpstart the cost savings there are various business energy tips that can help. For instance, you can avoid using energy where it is not needed. Or you can use an electricity rates comparison site to compare the price of energy from different provider. Below are more useful energy saving tips to reduce costs in the office.
1. Have an Energy Audit
If you want to reduce energy costs in your business expenses getting an energy audit will help to know your energy use, and you can get a clear outline of how you can save energy at the office. You can get free audits as most electric utility companies offer them. After this, a professional will come to your workplace to do a full inspection to check for any insulation issues, air leaks, or opportunities to install energy-efficient lighting. To inquire about the free audit, contact your utility company instead of your energy supplier.
2. Power Down Appliances at the End of the Day
Computers and other office appliances should be fully powered down at the end of the day, not just put on rest. When your staff is not working, encourage them to shut them down when they leave for the night. Through turning off and plugging all the devices for work at the end of the day, it is a simple way to reduce energy costs. This includes toasters, coffee makers, and other similar secondary appliances. Also, ensure that all these electrical appliances are safe to use and your electrical system is inspected by an expert electrician from Chicago to be safe.
3. Take Advantage of Natural Sunlight
If your office space receives abundant natural light, use that instead of switching on the lights. So, where the office windows give you enough light to work, especially on sunny days, save energy costs by having the lights off. Although many people don’t find this a one of the best energy saving tips at work, it does come in handy by reducing the cost of the energy bill at the end of the month. So, the fewer hours of energy you use, the less you will have to pay.
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4. Reduce Peak Demand
Another way to save on electricity in the office is to reduce the peak demand. This is the time of the day when the energy use is at its highest. In most cases, these are the usual office hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. To reduce the demand, you stagger working hours, running heavy equipment during early morning and evening hours to help conserve energy throughout the day. However, this must be communicated by the business owner to their employees to have a way to do it successfully without affecting work productivity.
5. Program your Thermostat
If your office is a 9-5 workplace, this is one of the most relevant energy saving tips. In that, the workplace does not need to cool or heat when everyone has gone home for the night. Also, if you have varying hours for some of your team members, you can opt to use smart or programmable thermostats. This will help to manage the temperature during off-work hours, and it will make a huge difference. By following a thermostat guide, you can find temperatures to set your thermostat for the best energy-saving temperatures. You can also adjust the thermostat according to how many people are inside the office: the fewer people the less cold air is needed.
6. Choose Laptops over Desktops
Compared to desktops, laptops consume relatively less energy. Besides, the monitor size also plays a key role in consuming energy. It is apparent that some employees need to have bigger screens such as graphic designers, but apart from them, the other employees can use plain laptops for their work. So, while choosing the machines for your new office or replacing the current ones, make sure to add more laptops for efficient energy consumption.
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7. Purchase Energy-Efficient Equipment
Energy-efficient office equipment will help reduce energy costs in your office. Therefore, before you lease or buy office electronics, ensure they are ENERGY STAR-rated. These appliances are evaluated and are energy efficient. So, you will be able to save money and manage the business expenses in terms of energy cost in the long run.
8. Use Hibernation Feature Whenever Possible
You can advise your employees to put their desktops in hibernation mode while going on breaks or attending conference meetings. This helps in saving energy consumption as your employees are not using the machines for longer periods. The hibernation feature will let your employees save their ongoing work and resume it when they return from breaks or meetings without consuming extra energy. Putting a machine on hibernation mode can seem a small change, but it surely makes a huge impact in the long run.
Conclusion
Saving energy in every way possible is definitely a good thing for both your office’s cost and the environment’s sustainability. So make sure you follow these tips and work towards an environment-friendly workflow.
