Energy Tips For Our Business Electricity Clients
Most of the energy-saving tips we come across are geared toward the residential consumer: fill the holes around your window-unit air conditioner; unplug your cell phone when it’s not charging. Stuff like that.
And while those sorts of tips are good advice for us all, we found it refreshing to find energy tips geared toward the commercial power user. Since we are energy consultants focused on finding lower-cost alternatives for business electricity and natural gas, we thought we’d pass some of these along.
Thanks to AEP Ohio for providing the list.
Commercial Refrigeration
• Keep the door to the walk-in closed as much as possible to reduce temperature fluctuations. Install a plastic strip curtain over the entrance. Install an automatic door closer, and lighting sensors for the interior.
• Check your temperature often. ENERGY STAR recommends settings between -14 and -8 Fahrenheit for freezers, and between 35 and 38 degrees for freezers. Clean your cooling coils to prevent ice buildup.
• Consider evaporative condensers instead of air-cooled condensers, and heat recovery systems to use heat removed from display cases to heat water.
General Business
• Install LED exit signs, which use about one-tenth the wattage and last 50 times longer than do incandescent-lamp signs.
• Clean your fixtures regularly. Dust build-up can greatly reduce lighting efficiency.
• Install occupancy sensors that automatically shut off the lights when no one is in the area, such as in conference rooms and break rooms.
• Consider T-8 fluorescent lamps with magnetic ballasts when your old T-12 lamps burn out.
HVAC
• Use fans to circulate the air. They can reduce the need for air conditioning, as a setting of 3-5 degrees higher can feel just as comfortable if also using a fan.
• Install a programmable thermostat to account for occupancy cycles.
• Replace air conditioning units of five tons or larger with units featuring energy efficiency ratios (EER) of 10.5 or more. You’ll drop operating cost.
Energy Professionals is one of the nation’s leading energy brokers, providing lower-cost energy solutions to our business clients. Combine an energy plan that fits your operation with these and other steps to conserve and reduce your energy expense.
Contact Energy Professionals for a free energy analysis.