Energy Efficiency Initiatives for Businesses
Energy efficiency should be high up on the list of any business’ operating directives. When businesses’ operations can be more sustainable, they can maintain a strong foothold in their industry as the consumer demand for green products and services continues to grow increasingly greater. Going green can help to forge long-standing customer relationships. That support for relationship building may be particularly critical in business to business sales. The pressure for businesses to go green will be a determinative factor in who businesses decide to work with in order to enhance the sustainability of their production and delivery of products and services. When companies are able to tout the ingenuity and efficacy of their efforts to waste less energy, they can draw positive attention from a lot of prospective new customers while establishing themselves as leaders in their field. Here are some strategies that businesses of all sizes and fields can utilize to use less energy in their day-to-day activities.
Do an Energy Audit
An electrical contractor or engineer can assist a business perform an audited analysis of its current power usage. An energy audit will provide valuable information such as what a building uses the most energy on and what times it tends to use the most. A contractor or engineer can then work with a building owner to upgrade its infrastructure.
Recommendations to overhaul a commercial facility’s energy use may include retrofitting or replacement of certain electrical components. They may also include changes to building systems such as lighting or heating and cooling installations.
Replace Outdated Electrical Equipment
Some older electrical equipment can generate excessive waste as they carry electricity. The loss of electricity as heat can create safety hazards. Another potential hazard is mismatching components. In some instances, stationary equipment for fixed sites may be the responsibility of a utility provider to replace. However, ancillary equipment and conduits such as bus ducts are the responsibility of a commercial property owner to replace.
Businesses may be responsible for optimizing their premises’ power supply with modification or replacement of electric transformers. The correct transformer enables businesses to utilize the correct amount of electricity and spare them from generating excess waste.
Buy Equipment Selectively
At a minimum, all of the miscellaneous equipment that a company uses in its regular activities should be fairly efficient. Ideally, businesses will prioritize energy efficiency as one of the criteria that it looks for when deciding what equipment to purchase or lease. Things that a business uses most such as office equipment, IT infrastructure, or industrial machines have to feature operability without excessive power consumption.
Be Attentive to Heating and Cooling
An outdated system to control the temperature inside of a building may be terribly inefficient. Moreover, they may have functional deficiencies. For example, part of a building may become totally frigid when the air conditioning is turned on while other parts receive little cool air at all. Installing additional thermostats or Variable Air Volume boxes can help counter these types of efficiency issues.
Use Renewable Energy
One of the most affirmative steps towards sustainability that a commercial enterprise can take is to utilize renewable energy. A solar panel system can equip businesses to stop depending entirely on traditional energy derived from non-renewable resources that are actively damaging the environment. The current ways that businesses derive energy is largely unsustainable. In many states, electricity providers continue to generate power by burning fossil fuel. Some even continue to use coal in defiance of practicality and reason. Becoming more independent from power grids that are putting the environment in peril is one of the most strategic ways for businesses to operate efficiently.
Initiatives to use energy better can help businesses in multiple ways. They can strengthen existing customer relationships and avoid losing ground against competitors who have demonstrated superior efficiency advancements. Moreover, using less traditional energy can help businesses spend less money month after month. Less overhead on energy will boost profitability as businesses make progress to save the environment.
