9 ways to save on your energy bill for your office/business.
1: Purchase energy efficient light bulbs. For example CFLs can save your business money. Compared to regular incandescent light bulbs, they use up to 75% less energy! Go further…research LEDs. LEDs can operate at about 6 times more in lifetime than CFLs. “If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an energy star qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and present greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars” – EPA
2: Psychological reminders: On the bottom of your e-signature, place the following message, “Please remember the environment before printing…” Visual notes like these seen everyday speak loudly overtime.
3: Another psychological reminder for anyone leaving work late: Right before you leave work, place a note on your door, for example: “Last One out, Flip The Switch, Close The Windows.” Leave the note on the door for the future. This will have a lasting imprint.
4: Perform an energy audit to help find the energy and heat leaks within your work environment. Or tell your building manager to perform one for you. This can help reduce your rental and energy cost.
5: Purchase energy efficient equipment. Be cautious of old computers, monitors, printers, and devices sitting around. Turn your business from a Flintstone to a Jetson. Saving energy saves money. By using energy-efficient equipment, a medium size office can save up to $400 per year on utilities (American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy).
6: Turn off and power down office equipment while you leave.
7: For bathrooms, invest in paperless hand dryer and automatic sensing faucet. For example, the EZ automatic sinks out there can save a business 70% water per hand wash while reducing germ contamination. Paperless, automatic hand dryers save the environment, thus lowering waste and reducing cost.
8: Use e-mail as much as possible. Devise a process improvement strategy to do so. If you were to eliminate purchasing office paper, how much would you be saving?
9: Turn down office temperature by purchasing an efficient thermostat. Contact your local utility company to see if you can qualify for an efficient thermostat. Turning down your temperature by several degrees can add up in generous savings.
Try these simple tips or suggestions within your job or business. Or take it one step further and apply some of the strategies towards your home. Taking these small steps can make a powerful difference for you and the environment as well. Have a great day and let’s have a bright future!
If you would like to learn more about what you can do to go green, a nice energy audit will send you in the right direction. The insight you gain from it will give you plenty of ideas for a little green remodeling, so you can become part of the solution.
Tags: EPA, Green Best Practices
