business

Savings Tips

Energy Conservation for Business Customers

Being a wise energy consumer is good for the environment and your bottom line. So consider these conservation tips:

Did you know that heating and cooling consume the largest single portion of energy used by a building?

Heat and cool only in frequently used spaces.
Set thermostats to lowest comfortable setting for heating; the highest for cooling.
Reduce internal heat generation as much as possible during cooling season.
Install locking covers on all accessible thermostats to avoid tampering.
Minimize the use of strip heating. Disconnect if in excess of 2 kW per ton of A/C.
Shut down heating, A/C and ventilating equipment during unoccupied periods.
Replace air filters monthly.
Turn off all non-critical exhaust fans.
Inspect outdoor air filters regularly.
When using an exhaust hood in food preparation, add control or gravity dampers to keep exhaust duct closed when it is not in operation.
Sign up for a regularly scheduled systems maintenance program.

Did you know that for each 3.4 watts of lighting removed from a space, 1 watt of air conditioning can be saved?

Turn off lights in all unoccupied rooms.
Replace incandescent lamps with high-efficiency compact fluorescent units. These provide virtually the same light at one-fourth the wattage, and the rated lamp life will be 13 times longer than incandescent lamps.
Retrofit existing fluorescent fixtures with electronic ballasts and T8 lamps.
Install occupancy sensors, which detect occupants in a given space, to turn lights on or off. (Good in storage rooms, break rooms, offices, restrooms, corridors, garage and dock areas, etc.)
Replace or retrofit exit signs with incandescent lamps with LED exit signs. This will reduce energy consumptions and maintenance costs and increase the sign’s life to up to 10 years.
To maintain light levels, establish a maintenance program to change all lamps and clean all fixtures at a predetermined time.
Control all outside lighting systems with timers or photocells, making sure you adjust them to the changing seasons.

Ventilation

Consider adding controls to shut the ventilation system off whenever the building is unoccupied for an extended period of time (i.e. evenings and weekends).
Make outdoor air dampers as airtight as possible when closed.
Reduce the need for using outdoor air for odor control by installing chemical or activated charcoal odor-absorbing devices.
Inspect outdoor air filters regularly.

Refrigeration

Maintain temperatures no colder than necessary.
If the refrigerant color indicates “wet,” it means there’s moisture in the system. A mechanic should be called in immediately to perform necessary adjustments and repairs.
If there are bubbles visible in the sight-glass, it may indicate that the refrigerant level is low.
Install plastic strip curtains at doors to walk-in units to reduce cooling losses when doors are open.

Hot and Cold Water Systems

Inspect the water-supply system periodically and repair all leaks, including faucets.
Inspect insulation on storage tanks and repair or replace as needed.
Add insulation to storage tanks and hot water lines.
Add hot water taps at the outlet of your hot water heaters to reduce heat loss.

Elevators and Escalators

Adjust the time-out controls so they do not permit elevators to shut down too rapidly. They should idle long enough so that power consumption is just less than the power consumed in motor-generator startup.
Consider installing demand-type controls on elevators that can be adjusted to ensure the fewest number of cabs travel the shortest distance.
Operate escalators only during peak periods.
Consider using solid-state motor drives instead of motor generator sets. These drives generally save 25-30 percent in energy costs.

Building Envelope

Ensure ceiling tiles are securely in place to reduce infiltration of unconditioned air into conditioned space.
Weather strip exterior doors to reduce air infiltration. Also seal gaps between double entry doors.
Install awnings, solar film, or shade screens on east- and west-facing, sun-exposed glass areas.
Consider installing plastic strip curtains at loading dock doors to reduce volume of air lost when deliveries are made.