For many business owners, electrical costs are a constant annoyance. Fluctuations in the price of energy and In the amount of energy consumed can mean that your monthly electrical bill might be difficult to predict and budget for. And saving in the electrical bill can often go straight to improving your bottom line. So what can you do as a business owner to save money on your electrical bills?
Understand Your Energy Consumption
First, get an understanding of where you are spending your money. If you are unsure how different parts of your business consume energy, paying an electrician to visit you can be a great place to start. They can help you in two ways. First, they might be able to identify out of date or inefficient electrical appliances which are likely wasting energy. Secondly, an energy specialist can help you identify general inefficiencies in the workplace.
If you want to invest a little bit of money into understanding your energy consumption, you can install smart technology to measure how much of your energy is used for different things. This can give you live monitoring your electrical consumption and is incredibly useful if you are looking to determine how to reduce your consumption. It can sometimes be difficult to save money without spending a little, so this can give you a great idea of where you can save the most. If you get a 5% improvement on something which is using less than 1% of your overall energy, you might not be impressed with the earnings.
Innovate and Install Tools to Improve Efficiency
This technology can also be used to help you control your electrical use in real time. Being able to ensure that lights are off when not in use is a great example of the usefulness of smart technology in saving you money. Additionally, you can use your heating and cooling less when the building is not occupied. For example, while you will need to keep your building well above freezing in winter, it may not need to be comfortably warm during the weekends. Similarly, establish what a safe temperature is, and make sure that when the building is not occupied, you are not spending any extra money to cool it.
Additionally, you may be able to identify ways to decrease your energy consumption. Inefficient lightbulbs can be replaced with highly efficient ones. During the daytime, you can rely more on windows and natural light, although you will certainly need electrical lighting for when the sun is down. Non electrical fixes can be useful as well. Well insulated windows and smart landscaping can decrease your need to pay for HVAC.
HVAC Savings
Speaking of HVAC, this is one of the major expenses for business owners, and some are simply resigned to it. There is good reason for this. When employees are overheated or cold, they do not think as clearly, and thus will work less efficiently and make more mistakes. Additionally, providing a comfortable work environment is incredibly important for worker retention.
However, there are often improvements which can be made in the efficiency of your HVAC system. These machines have become more efficient over the past few decades, as society pressures producers to use less energy. If you have an older HVAC unit, consult an expert and find out if a new one would be more efficient. This is an area where there is a great deal of energy to save. Additionally, some places offer tax benefits for greener technology being installed.
Another great way to save money on energy is to look at your energy pricing from your supplier. Often, energy prices will fluctuate throughout the day, with prices being highest during peak times. If you want to save money, look for ways to decrease your energy expenditures during peak times. This could mean installing technology to remotely activate certain processes. Some businesses have even found that employing someone to do some work over night ends up saving them money, as they can move many of the most energy intensive processes to times when energy is cheaper.
Involve Employees
Finally, you should involve your employees in the energy saving process. Opening a dialogue with them about the importance of saving energy can help you to see which workers are willing to put in effort for the betterment of your business. You can incentivize them to work towards lower consumption. Additionally, doing things like relaxing a dress code can enable employees to dress in a way which helps them be comfortable over a wider range of temperatures. Involving your employees in the goal of making the company more profitable can help them to see the connection between the success of the company and their own personal financial success.
