Every business can benefit from saving energy — especially businesses that are located in regions where winter makes its presence felt. Here are five tips.
Every business can benefit from saving energy — especially businesses located in regions where winter makes its presence felt. Whether you own or lease the building where your business is located, significant expenses are incurred by lighting, heating and other energy-draining services. Just as importantly, your employees can easily be negatively impacted by unfavorable physical conditions. For example, if your business occupies an older building with inadequate insulation, you’re not only wasting money on lost heat during the winter months, but you’re subjecting employees to conditions that could reduce productivity and morale. Here are five tips to help you save energy at your facility.
1. Inspect Heating and HVAC Systems
The Small Business Administration recommends changing HVAC filters once a month during peak seasons, especially winter. If the filters are in good shape, they should still be cleaned once a month. Ideally, your building’s entire heating system should be serviced before winter begins to protect against untimely malfunctions and expensive problems like frozen pipes.
2. Check Weatherstripping and Insulation
Poor caulking and weatherstripping around doors and windows will lead to the loss of heat and extra expenses for your business. Be sure to examine your setup at the beginning of every winter, and make repairs as needed. As part of your overall assessment, check the insulation on heating ducts and both indoor and outdoor pipes. New insulation can be far less costly than a burst pipe during the coldest days of the year.
3. Set Thermostat for Greatest Efficiency
When employees are at work, set the thermostat for 68 degrees. During unoccupied hours, lower the setting. By turning your thermostat back 10 to 15 degrees for eight hours, you can save 5 to 15 percent a year — a savings of as much as 1 percent for each degree if the setback period is eight hours long. Programmed thermostats simplify the process of adjusting and regulating temperature settings.
4. Replace Inefficient Lighting
A compact fluorescent lightbulb requires 75 percent less electricity to generate as much light as older incandescent lightbulbs. As the California Energy Commission’s Consumer Energy Center notes, “By replacing a 100-watt incandescent with an equivalent 25-watt compact fluorescent, you can save more than $90 per bulb in electricity costs over the 10,000-hour lifetime of the compact fluorescent.”
5. Get on the Solar-Power Bandwagon
Solar power is being embraced across the U.S. In fact, close to 784,000 homes and businesses have “gone solar,” according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, with a new solar project installed every two minutes in 2015. Here are some of the benefits:
- Cost savings – According to EnergySage, solar power reduces the average commercial property owner’s electricity bill by 75 percent. Most businesses pay off the expense of solar panel installation after three to seven years, and then they “enjoy free electricity for the life of the system.”
- Tax credits – Solar power systems installed before December 31, 2016 make businesses eligible for a federal tax credit equal to 30 percent of the system’s cost. Also, a business may deduct 85 percent of the solar power system’s value from their taxes.
- Public image and employee morale – Consumers are increasingly drawn to businesses that adopt environmentally friendly policies and practices. Going solar is a clear-cut demonstration of your commitment to sustainability, which is something your employees can feel good about as well.
Taking steps to reduce energy costs — especially during the winter months — will not only save your business money, but will also improve the workplace environment for your employees. Follow these five energy saving tips, and you’ll soon be reaping the benefits.
