V Reddy Kancharla and I have worked together for over a decade now helping businesses to reduce the amount of energy that they are using. From the beginning, this was about helping businesses to save money on their energy use but after the first two years, we both realized just how important this would be from an ecological standpoint as well.
Reddy and I have seen a sharp increase in the number of clients looking for our services in recent years and of course, this is down to the discovery of more and more evidence which reinforces the fact that the temperature of the planet is rising and that climate change is most certainly real, contrary to what the naysayers may believe.
If you run your own business, no matter how big or how small, it is very likely that there are a great number of ways in which you can help to reduce your energy bills and help to run a greener operation, and here are some suggestions on doing just that.
Timers
Something which far too many businesses fail to do is users timers in the workplace to ensure that lights, heating or air conditioning are not left on when it is not required. This is a tiny investment that companies will make and not only will it help greatly in terms of their green credentials, it will also help them to save money in the long run. Timers can be set to the hours of the business so that there is absolutely no risk of anything being left on.
Work From Home
Whilst we understand the concerns that some managers have in terms of allowing their staff to work from home, if this is a viable option then it is something that we still very much encourage. We live in a world now where thanks to the internet we can take meetings from home, we can carry out tasks from home and we can be managed during our time at home as well.
Businesses that can always encourage their staff to take at least one or two days per week as a home office. This not only reduces the need for your staff to be using cars or vehicles, but it also means that the business can either be closed, or it can run on minimal power and energy usage.
Car Pooling
If the home office isn’t possible or if it isn’t something that you are overly keen on then at the very least you should be encouraging your staff to carpool wherever possible. Cars on the road is a real problem from an environmental standpoint and one of the worst parts of it is that there are so many cars on the road with just one person inside.
This is why we urge more people to carpool and to use public transport so that at the very least those cars on the road are full up. Five people in a single car could ensure that there are not 5 cars on the road with a single person inside, each car like this means 4 cars are off the road and not contributing towards the emissions that we pump into the environment.
Lightbulb Switch
If your business is still using the traditional lightbulbs then you are going to be using way more power than is necessary and it is vital that you switch to LED bulbs as soon as you possibly can. One traditional lightbulb will use the same energy per year as 12 LED bulbs and not only is that going to be damaging to the environment, it is also going to be hitting your pocket pretty hard when it really shouldn’t. Make the switch and you will make instant savings and begin to help the planet.
Heating and Cooling Systems
When it comes to your heating and cooling systems it is vital that you are only using them when absolutely necessary and that you have a zoning system so that they are not heating or cooling spaces that don’t require it. Beyond this, it is also absolutely essential that you have your systems maintained regularly in order to ensure that they are in great condition and that they are running well. When filters get blocked other issues occur, the systems still use the same amount of energy even though you may not feel the benefit.
Regular maintenance will give you the peace of mind that your systems are as efficient as they can be, cooling or heating the business without using excessive amounts of unnecessary energy.
If you are able to make these small tweaks in your business you are going to be massively contributing to helping reduce the amount of energy that your business uses and the negative impacts which we are all having on the environment.
