Don’t Spend Your Budget on Wasteful Electric Usage
Electricity (Photo credit: elycefeliz)
is that it costs money; no power company will render their services for free. The more units of power you consume, the more you will pay. For a business, this can significantly increase your operating costs hence affecting profitability. It is, therefore, important to avoid wastefulness and here are a few tips on how you can do just that.
Monitoring
If you don’t like what you see in your electricity bill statement every end of the month, then you have to take steps to determine exactly where the problem is. The only way you will be able to do this is by monitoring electricity consumption in and around your place of business. Set aside one day and monitor how your employees typically use electricity without taking any action or making them feel uncomfortable. It is only after understanding the problem that you will be able to solve it.
Lighting
Lighting contributes quite significantly to your electricity bill each month. After monitoring typical daily consumption, you may be surprised at just how unnecessarily people use electrical lighting. It really does not make any sense whatsoever for one to leave the lights on, in a clearly-lit room, during the day. You may also find people leaving lights on when going for lunch or even after leaving the premises at night. To prevent this, organize a meeting to inform everyone working for you that there is need to conserve power. Consider sticking reminder notes on every light switch and in every room with words like “use lights only when NEEDED”. Make sure that they are clearly visible to the people entering and leaving the various rooms.
If possible, consider installing clear roofing tiles/sheets in rooms that are less exposed to natural light. Last but not least, you should get rid of all traditional halogen-based light bulbs and replace them with energy efficient LED lights as they are known to consume up to 90 percent less power.
Turn Off Appliances
Again, this is another obvious energy saving tip that is to a very large extent ignored. If there are a number of computers in your business premises, ensure that they are all turned off when not in use. This includes during lunch breaks and most importantly, after working hours. It also doesn’t make sense to leave heating and cooling appliances on when they are not needed. The simple rule should be; if it is not in use, switch it off.
Avoid Silent “Hidden” Wastage
To revisit the issue of heating and cooling installations, commonly referred to as HVAC systems, it is important to ensure that they are all in good working condition. You may not be aware of this, but the systems can significantly add to your electricity bill if not properly maintained and the worst thing is that you may never know. The solution to this is simple; bring in a HVAC expert at least once a year so that they can carry out maintenance work, and consequently ensure that everything is operating efficiently.
Go Green
If you live in a sunny or windy part area, then a good idea would be to finance your very own solar and windmill projects to cater for your energy needs. The best thing about this particular option is that once everything is up and running, you may never have to pay a single cent in power bills. If the said installations do not have the capacity to meet your every need, you could use the same in concurrence with the grid connection. This will significantly lower your bills.
Author Bio
William Stevens is a writer who creates informative articles in relation to technology. In this article, he offers tips on saving electricity and aims to encourage further study with an NJIT electrical engineering masters.
Share this:
Category: Energy, Home Improvements, Saving Money
