As winter rolls around and you find the office heating is making your electrical bills soar, you’ve got two options:
Let your workers freeze, forced to wear head-to-toe thermals and dressing gowns
Optimise your workspace in other areas to improve your energy efficiency
Not ready to see workmate Dave in a fluffy pink robe?
Here’s 6 ways to keep your heaters on high, and your electrical bills staying low.
Add zoning to your HVAC system
Here’s a not-so-fun fact: Your HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) system is costing you an arm and a leg. For most buildings, HVACs are responsible for a majority of total building energy consumption.
Luckily, there’s a solution! Adding zoning gives you control of your HVAC system’s airflow to specific rooms, so you only need to heat/cool the areas you’re using, which reduces energy consumption.
Zoning works by adding dampers from your building air ducts, which can easily be installed by mechanical professionals.
This way, you can keep your heating system on, and your costs down.
Switch to LED lights
Here’s a bright idea: upgrade your energy-guzzling halogen lights to LED lights, which are not only safer, but could reduce your office’s light energy usage by up to 50%.
There’s more where that came from: you can read all about the benefits of LED globes here.
Upgrade your energy appliances
You’ve heard of spending money to make money, but have you heard of spending money to save money?
Investing in appliance upgrades with newer, energy-efficient models is not only great for the environment, but great for your wallet.
This is what some like to call a win-win-win:
Good for the environment, good for business, and keeps your employees impressed with a fancy high-tech fridge (we won’t tell them it’s saving you money 😉).
Automate your lighting system
Automating your lighting system with time clocks and sensors is a fantastic way to reduce energy costs, improve the life-span of your bulbs and simplify your end-of-day pack up.
No more blaming Dave for leaving the lights on all weekend.
Consider installing solar panels
Now, if you’re really looking for a long-term solution for your office, solar panels are definitely worth considering.
Solar panels provide a clean energy solution, with a 4-5 year payback, and a high return on investment of around 15%.
Plus, if you’re a commercial business operating in the City of Melbourne, you may be eligible to receive funding to install your solar panels through the Innovative Environmental Upgrade Agreement (EUA).
Contact MPE Group to organise all of your office electricity-saving solutions today.