How Your Company Can Drastically Lower Its Energy Usage
There’s no doubt that technology plays an important role in the average American business. But as important and helpful as technology is, businesses could also find themselves at risk
ESFI surveys indicate that voltage surges occur monthly and cause significant damage. Sometimes that frequency occurs more often than once a month and healthcare centers (69%), industrial facilities (76%) and IT centers (80%) are among the most affected. What’s more, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association estimates that somewhere between 60-80% of surges originate from internal sources.
So what can be done to protect against surges? Any business worth its salt should have important pieces of equipment plugged into surge protectors. When a surge happens, any devices that are plugged into an unprotected outlet get a surge of power, which can greatly damage of negatively affect how those devices operate. With a surge protector, any extra voltage is transferred to the protector’s grounding wire, which stops that extra voltage from reaching any of your company’s electrical devices.
During electrical storms, one smart thing for companies to do is unplug electrical office equipment (if possible) and wait for the storm to pass before plugging it back in.
Another thing companies can get is uninterruptable power supplies. These machines keep a company’s electronic devices going for a set amount of time in the event the building’s power supply is shut off. These power supplies work by storing power in a battery and then distributing that power so the devices stay on for a limited amount of time.
There are many things a company can do to protect its equipment that requires power, but there’s denying that companies use a lot of power too. It’s estimated that buildings consume about 40% of the primary energy and 70% of the annual electricity in the United States.
With that in mind, eco-minded businesses who consult with energy conservation services about how they reduce their power usage can usually do so by taking some very easy steps. These steps include:
- Update: Another tip a lot of energy conservation services will tell you about is replacing any outdated or inefficient lighting. If you notice that some lights in the office are always in need of replacement, there’s probably a reason for that. Consult commercial electricians about making your lighting more efficient.
- Evaluate: As you update your company’s lighting, take a look at all of your equipment too. If you work with computers and servers and all sorts of other equipment, there are likely a few ways that you can save energy by eliminating unneeded fixtures.
- Double check: If you are going to replace lights and lamps in the office, make sure you’ve got something that’s going to stay at a consistent level before you replace anything. Incandescent lamps can be replaced with compact fluorescent lamps and you can even have a dimming system installed to control energy usage.
- Adapt: Another thing energy conservation services will tell you to do is turn the lights off during the daytime. If your building has windows, let the sun shine in. Taking advantage of natural daylight will allow you to turn some of those lights off and conserve some energy.
- Heating and cooling: Another big way to conserve energy in the office is to watch your heating cooling appliances. Cranking the heat in the winter or turning up the AC in the summer is a surefire way to make those energy costs go up. You can save energy by setting your heating and cooling units on cycles. Keep the temperature of the office at a reasonable level too.
If you’re looking to revamp how your company uses power, industrial electrical services, electrical design services and commercial lighting services can help you make that a reality. With a few simple changes, you’ll be able to conserve power, lower energy bills and work more efficiently.