Energy Efficiency

Save energy and money in your company

Energy efficient Holiday lights

General

- Whenever possible, don't use large equipment during the peak hours of 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
- Turn equipment and lights off after hours.
- Set energy-saving features on all your office equipment to put them into sleep mode when not in use.
- An energy audit might be the best investment you can make for your business.

Cooling and Ventilation Systems

- Set the thermostat in your workspace to 25 degrees during work hours, and raise the setting to 29 degrees when the space is unoccupied. The energy savings can be significant - as much as 2 percent of your air conditioning costs for each one degree that you raise the thermostat.
- Use a programmable thermostat and make it easy to adjust the settings as well as regulate the temperature when you are closed to avoid unnecessary cooling costs. Consider a locking cover over the thermostat to avoid having employees change temperature settings.
- Close window blinds to shade your rooms from direct sunlight.
- Allow your workers to wear comfortable clothing during hot weather. It makes little sense to keep a room cold enough that workers must wear suits and coats.
- To save energy, keep your exterior and freight doors closed as much as possible. Consumers frequently complain about retailers who run their air conditioning on high to keep their stores as cold as possible while leaving their doors wide open.
- Maintain a regular filter replacement and cleaning schedule.
- Install window film, solar screens or awning in south and west facing windows.
- Solar control window films applied to existing glass in windows and doors is an effective method to reduce peak demand during hot months and conserve energy anytime air conditioning might be required. In addition to the energy management benefits, the use of these films can also reduce exposure to ultraviolet radiation and reduce glare.
- Install ceiling fans - they make it feel at least four degrees cooler during the summer.
- Rewire restroom fans to operate when the lights are turned on.
- Install an air conditioning-economizer to bring in outside air when it's cool.
- Insulate water heaters and supply pipes.
- If possible, install ceiling and wall insulation. You will save money on your monthly utility bills and your employees will be more comfortable.

Lighting

- Many offices, stores or factories can easily reduce lighting without affecting productivity. Turn off as many unnecessary lights as possible. Light only those areas that are needed at the time. Providing the right lighting can save up to 15 percent on your lighting bill.
- Make sure that lights are turned off after hours.
- Replace old fluorescent lights with newer, more efficient models with electronic ballasts.
- Replace your high-use incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights. A compact fluorescent light uses 75 percent less electricity to produce the same amount of light as an incandescent bulb.
- Make sure that bulbs, fixtures, lenses, lamps and reflective surfaces are cleaned regularly. By removing grease, dust and other dirt, you can increase the output of your lights.
- Install automatic, occupancy sensor room-lighting controls to turn lights on or off depending on occupancy or time of day.
- Change out incandescent or fluorescent exit signs with LED exit signs.

Computers and Other Office Equipment

- Turn off your computers and any other office equipment when you're not using them, especially overnight and weekends. This practice costs nothing and can potentially save as much as 2000MKD per year, per computer, depending on what you pay per kilowatt-hour.
- For computer protection during a power curtailment, your company might invest in "Uninterruptible Power Supplies," (also known as UPS systems) which combine surge protectors and battery packs. These will run a computer for a short time to allow a worker to save files and prevent the loss of information when the power goes out.
- Choose settings that automatically switch the computer monitor into sleep or "power-down" mode when it hasn't been worked on for a preset amount of time. Shorten the delay time before your monitor automatically goes into sleep mode.
- Consider having employees use lap top computers since they use up to 90 percent less energy than a standard computer.
- If it works for your business, consider ink-jet printers which also use 90 percent less energy than laser printers.
- Purchase the proper sized copier for your business needs.
- Choose a flat-panel computer monitor rather than a regular cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor. The bigger the monitor, the more energy it uses. For example, a 17-inch monitor consumes 35 percent more electricity than a 14-inch monitor.

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