How Can We Reduce Energy Consumption In Buildings?
Reducing energy use and educating workers how energy is used in business environments are becoming common ways to raise company income. This entails an entire construction plan, not only looking at equipment, but within the company’s architecture and employee culture. The easiest way to make substantial savings on your energy bill is by considering all these angles. Some of the best ways to minimize energy consumption in commercial settings are given below.
1. Update Your Lighting to Modern Technology
LED lighting can have a simple, dramatic effect on your energy consumption if you have outdated lighting. Converting your lighting to LED lighting will result in your lighting energy usage being up to 60% of your electrical costs. LED lighting also has the added advantages of producing less heat, thus minimizing your air conditioning load and reducing your maintenance costs due to the long life of LED lighting. Many LED lighting consumers note a cleaner crisper light when they switch to new lighting technology that can lead to an enhanced workplace for employees.
2. Shutdown your computer.
Some of the largest energy consumers in office buildings are machines. At night, turn off your computer and ditch the screensaver. You can toggle today’s computers on and off over 40,000 times. Opting to use a screensaver to shut down does not affect the lifetime of your computer. (with EnergyStar). Power down, then.
3. Eliminate vampire power: unplug idle electronics.
Standby power, even when off, is used by devices like televisions, microwaves, scanners, and printers. Some chargers, even when plugged in, continue to extract small amounts of energy (a good judge of this is if a charger feels warm to the touch). In the US, the total electricity consumed by idle electronics is equivalent to 12 power plants’ annual production (EPA).
4. To decrease your plug load, use a power strip.
Use a power strip to turn all machines off at once to prevent paying for this “vampire power,”. It has the same effect of flipping the switch on your power strip as unplugging each socket from the wall, preventing phantom loss of energy.
5. Reduce Energy Consumption Through Building Design and Layout.
- Plant Shade Trees Outside Your Office – Deciduous trees should be planted along your office building’s south and east sides. In the summer, they will provide shade, reduce the cooling load, and allow the sun to reach your building in the winter, lowering the heating load. Evergreen trees should be planted along the building’s west and north sides. In the winter, the evergreen trees can generate a wind block and contribute to the shade during the summer. It can make the building area feel 10-15 degrees cooler by blocking solar radiation from trees.
- Minimize Artificial Lighting and Make Use of Skylight Windows – It will allow large amounts of daylight into the office space by using skylight windows on the north or south side of the building. To help bring in light, the windows located on the south side of your building can use overhangs. Consider using windows or skylights that are operable. During warmer months, they allow hot air to escape, which will lower the cooling load.
