Need to bring down your energy bills? An energy audit from the certified inspectors at AmeriSpec can help save you money each month.
Running a business comes with plenty of expenses. One way to save money and keep costs down? Reduce your energy bill. The energy costs for the average household are almost $2,060 annually. Energy costs for businesses are typically much more. For example, grocery stores spend up to $160,000 per year on energy bills. Fortunately, it’s easy to be proactive about lowering your energy consumption.
4 Ways Businesses Waste Energy
In the hustle of your workday, it’s easy to forget to be energy efficient. Here are four common ways businesses unknowingly waste energy and what you can do to avoid the same mistakes.
Keeping Your Lights On All The Time
Mom was right. Having the lights on in an empty room is a waste of money. It can be tricky for employees to remember to turn off the lights when they come and go. One solution is to install motion sensors or timer-controlled lights. Set up these lights to turn off when no one is in the room or during non-business hours. Your parking lot lights may also be contributing to high energy costs. Check if the parking lot’s lights can be turned off during the day to help save your business money.
Using Your Energy-Heavy Equipment At The Same Time
The same principle applies to equipment. When you’re not using desktop computers, laptops or printers, turn them off. If possible, try to stagger the use of equipment during the day. If this equipment is all in use at the same time, it can drive up your utility bills.
Using Older HVAC Appliances
If you’re hesitant about spending money on new HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) units, don’t wait too long. Old HVAC appliances use more energy to operate. Replacing them with new, energy-efficient appliances will heat up or cool down your spaces faster, use less energy when running and save your business money each month.
Unknown Energy Loss
When you find rooms won’t stay warm or bills are high without explanation, you might be losing energy in ways you can’t see. An energy audit is an extremely valuable assessment of how much energy is being used in your business. With the cost of energy going up every year, an audit is a great way to discover where the most energy is being used, how it’s being wasted and what kind of improvements you can make to save money.
Energy Audits from AmeriSpec
AmeriSpec offers a diverse range of commercial inspections. Many of our certified inspectors can also help your business conduct an energy audit to get to the bottom of where energy is being wasted. During an audit, the AmeriSpec inspector will observe, measure and evaluate factors affecting energy usage. Then, they’ll provide a comprehensive AmeriSpec Energy Report. This report will help you see what improvements can be made to reduce energy costs for your business.
As part of the process, your inspector may also want to conduct a thermal imaging inspection. Using heat-sensing technology, they can determine where air is leaking out of the building, insulation abnormalities and other issues not apparent to the naked eye. From there they can recommend the proper steps to take to increase energy efficiency for your business.
5 Other Ways to Reduce Business Energy Use
In addition to scheduling an energy audit, you can proactively make your business more energy efficient on your own. These five tips can help you achieve your efficiency goals and save money..
- Caulk and seal window and exterior doors: This prevents rooms in your building from getting too hot or too cold and in turn limits heater and AC use.
- Use natural light: Beyond using energy-efficient light bulbs to brighten rooms, you can use natural sunlight to your advantage. Install large windows and choose an open floor plan so everyone can enjoy natural sunlight. Many businesses install skylights to bring more natural light and heat into the office.
- Stagger work hours and times: If possible stagger work times so everyone is not using energy and equipment during peak energy hours.
- Program your thermostats: Program your thermostats to be turned off after work hours. Schedule a thermal inspection to check for unseen energy issues in the building.
- Establish energy-saving best practices for your office: Establish best practices with office employees. Put up friendly signs to remind them to turn off the lights and shut down their computers at the end of the day. Encourage everyone to follow these practices and be conscientious about saving energy.
Schedule an Energy Audit
When you run a business, every penny counts. Trust the certified inspectors at AmeriSpec to help you conduct an energy audit that will make your business more efficient and eco-friendly. Contact us today to schedule your energy audit or learn more about our services.