Business Energy Savings Tips
Improve your business – and your bottom line – by saving energy.
Managing your energy use wisely can improve your bottom line, reduce waste, increase productivity and lower your energy costs. Educating and urging your employees to be energy conscious can greatly increase your success.
These energy saving tips can help businesses in a wide range of industries become more energy efficient. Some of the information provided here was gathered from these reputable sources:
- U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
- National Electrical Manufacturers Association
- Department of Energy Advanced Manufacturing Office
- ENERGY STAR®
Scroll down for low or no-cost quick tips and advice about motors, refrigeration, chillers, lighting, cooling and heating and water heating.
Quick Tips
Adjust thermostats or use a smart programmable thermostat. Lower the heat and raise the air conditioning temperature when the building is unoccupied. A smart thermostat will learn your heating and cooling patterns and automatically adjust to your business operations.
Reduce the hot water temperature. Dialing back your water heater can decrease heat loss from your tank.
Install low-flow aerators in sink and bathroom faucets. Low-flow aerators on sinks and faucets will save you energy and water and reduce your monthly bills.
Reduce lighting. Use natural lighting, when available, or task lighting. Only light areas where light is needed and at the right levels for safety or the task. Turn off lights when they're not in use.
Seal cooling and heating ductwork. Seal air duct leaks in joints, elbows and connections, which can account for up to 30 percent of your total energy loss. Leaks can be especially costly if the ducts travel through unheated or un-cooled spaces such as attics, basements or crawlspaces.
Insulate the water tank. Installing an insulated wrap around your water tank is an inexpensive way to reduce standby heat loss from the tank. Be sure to leave the air intake vent uncovered when insulating a gas water heater.
Replace HVAC air filters regularly and follow maintenance schedules for furnace and air conditioning equipment. Replacing a dirty air filter improves air flow and saves you money by reducing the amount of energy needed to run the blower motor.
Install automatic room-lighting controls. Install sensors and timers for lighting that will automatically turn lights on and off, depending on occupancy or time of day.
Maintain refrigeration equipment. Clean heat exchangers and perform routine maintenance on refrigerating equipment to ensure the most efficient operation.
Don’t heat or cool unused rooms. Shut doors to unused rooms and turn off the cooling and heating in those areas, such as storage rooms.
Turn off machines and equipment when not needed. In many businesses, this simple approach can achieve big savings. Turn off equipment such as computers, monitors, printers and copiers when they’re not in use.
Buy energy-efficient equipment. When buying or replacing computers, copiers and other office equipment, compare the energy requirements of various models and look for the ENERGY STAR label.
Seal exterior cracks and holes to ensure tight-fitting windows. Seemingly small cracks or holes in walls, windows, doors ceiling and floors can add up to heating or cooling losses. Install weather stripping and caulking to stop these air leaks.
Shade sun-exposed windows and building walls. Direct sunlight streaming through windows in the summer can substantially increase your air conditioning costs. When it’s hot outside, use window coverings, awnings, trees and shrubs to lower heat gain.
Repaint the building exterior and roof with light colors. When it's time to repaint the exterior of your building, consider using light colors. More sunlight will be reflected away from the building, lowering heat gain and cooling costs, which may be your largest energy use.
Block and insulate unneeded windows and other openings. Aside from improving security, covering unneeded windows and doors can greatly reduce energy losses from those openings.