Electricity is a vital resource, and it is thus critical to keep track of it at all times. Electricity has become an integral component of our daily lives, both at work, home, and school. People are concerned about rising power rates, especially now that a considerable portion of their income will be used to pay off utility bills because they’re getting expensive! But something no one talks about is business electricity costs.
If you’re running your own small business at home, you’ll find out that your energy expenses may have rocketed since the day you started. Reducing the energy you use daily can help you have huge savings by the end of the month, not to mention the environmental perks that this brings to the table. If you want to save money on your power costs, here are some tips to reduce your business electricity costs and get overall cheaper electricity bills.
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Energy efficiency is the key to reducing your small business electricity costs
Everyone’s attention is drawn to energy efficiency. This might be for various reasons, including helping to save the environment, reducing waste, or saving money on energy costs. Whatever the case may be, it’s always a good idea to consider methods to make your surroundings more energy efficient. And this holds true for corporations as well. The following seven ideas will give you an idea of the improvements that may be made to increase your company’s energy efficiency and reduce your small business electricity costs.
1. Perform a business energy audit
Doing an energy audit is crucial if you want to know where you’re losing energy (and money) and thus have significant consequences on your business electricity costs. An accurate evaluation of current energy usage is the most effective approach to cutting power use. With this diagnosis, you can create clear and attainable energy savings objectives for your company.
An energy audit’s goal is to reduce energy expenses while maintaining climatic comfort through energy-saving and efficiency recommendations, and it usually consists of two parts:
- A diagnostic of the existing condition, including a cost-benefit analysis.
- A list of places, equipment, and facilities that might be upgraded.
Engineers specializing in energy audits examine the present condition, such as use and demands, and recommend cost-cutting methods.
Determine your passions, understand your current usage and challenges, create benchmark targets, and track your progress. Energy conservation is a team effort, not only the duty of business owners. Let your staff know how they can help and encourage them to share their energy-saving ideas.
2. Switch off the equipment that’s not in use
The proper use of electronic devices inside your business (large or small) is critical for success in energy management. If you have some employees, they should understand that every team member must support responsible usage of their equipment. Here are some small things you can do to reduce your business electricity costs.
- When not in use, make sure monitors are set to sleep mode or manually turned off.
- Keep in mind that screen savers have no effect on monitor power usage; just turn them off.
- At night and on weekends, turn off printers and copiers.
- If you can’t turn off some devices, make sure they’re set to save mode.
- Turn off equipment that is not in use since many continue to waste energy.
Reducing your business electricity costs requires disciplined and persistent behavior, so every tiny action will help us achieve our goal. Remember, “energy vampires” keep on draining the electric flow even if they’re not in use. You may simply avoid this waste by disconnecting the appliance or turning off the electricity to the devices using the on/off switch.
3. Try different lighting on your workspace
Another significant energy expense is lightning. Here are some small tips you can follow to reduce your business electricity costs on this matter:
- Keep the windows clean and choose light colors to optimize natural light for the walls.
- If feasible, instead of using lights throughout the day, allow the sunshine in or strive to maximize a combination of both.
- Replace your outdated halogen lights with energy-saving bulbs like LED or CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamp or better known as “saving bulbs”) if you haven’t already. They last longer and use less electricity.
- Remind coworkers and employees to switch off lights (and other equipment) while not in use.
- Install dimmers and motion sensors in areas with limited circulation so that lights may be switched off when they aren’t needed.
4. If starting with a small basement business, consider switching to a fixed-rate energy plan.
Did you know you may switch your energy provider with no difficulty in just a few simple steps? Switching energy suppliers is one of the simplest ways to save money on energy bills, especially for residential customers (and those who have home-based businesses). You may be missing out on better offers by sticking with the same provider and/or the same variable rate. Here’s where you can learn more about switching your energy supplier, and at Click2Power, we can help you find the most beneficial energy quote for your home’s needs.
5. Use a programable thermostat
When no one is around, a programmable thermostat allows you to automatically alter the temperature in your office (for example, most nights, weekends, and holidays). Set yours to turn on the air conditioning or heat 30 minutes before guests arrive and off 30 to 60 minutes after they depart. Here is our golden rule to reduce those outrageous business electricity costs:
- During the hotter months, it’s good to keep your thermostat set to no more than 78 degrees during working hours to save energy.
- Then set the thermostat to a maximum of 68 degrees during the colder months.
6. Buy energy-efficient devices
Computers, monitors, printers, fax machines, scanners, and copiers with high energy ratings can run considerably more effectively and shut down automatically after extended periods of inactivity. If you switch to energy-efficient devices, it can help you save up to 50% on power consumption on some power-hungry gadgets, and this will potentially reduce your business electricity costs. Furthermore, if your old heater or air conditioner isn’t operating at top efficiency, it may waste energy and lose you money, causing high electricity costs for business. Replace outmoded heaters and air conditioners with more energy-efficient units.
7. Take advantage of the daylight
The time change, which occurs twice a year, attempts to align our working hours with daylight hours, but it is not always successful. Consult with your coworkers about adjusting your arrival and leave schedules to coincide with daylight hours. This way, you’ll avoid coming to work in the dark and having to turn on the lights or having to do so in the afternoon before leaving. This will help you get good savings in your business electricity costs.
Do you have more ideas on how to reduce your business electricity costs? Feel free to share them with the community in our comment section.
