The holidays are right around the corner. Finding ways of cutting our everyday costs will help us with the costs of holiday gift giving. Let’s start with energy savings!
Photo Credit: www.ecomonitor.com
Energy savings can reach almost a quarter of the current costs through the use of a few smart strategies. These involve little to no expense at all on the part of businesses. Most require just a bit of time from the staff to
ensure that everything is working well.
Better Management of Outside Air
Conditioning outside air can take a lot of energy especially if the weather is warm and humid. Buildings should try to limit their intake of air from beyond the premises so as to reduce the load on the HVAC system. Most are
set to admit a higher flow than what is actually needed. Try to lower this to the minimum and observe the effects on the people and the equipment. Most of the time, people don’t even feel the difference but the management
certainly will when they see a significant drop in energy consumption.
Maximization of Present Capabilities
Oftentimes the existing HVAC system has features that are under-utilized. This is a shame since some of these features may be able to trigger a drop in energy expenditure. Take for example cooling tower fans. Many buildings
have two speed models yet they only ever operate these at full speed even when it isn’t necessary. Allowing them to run at the lower speed setting can slash their energy use by half.
Reduction of Concurrent Heating and Cooling
Using heaters and coolers at the same time will result in each negating the other’s effects. Study whether this is really necessary and stop this practice where possible. In other cases, try to isolate them from each other
to reduce the inefficiencies. Lower the temperature setting for the heater and increase the setting for the air conditioner.
Upgrade to More Efficient Parts
A programmable thermostat requires a bit of investment and offers large rewards. They can be set to turn off the system automatically after office hours to ensure that there are no wasted resources. The temperature setting
can be varied at different times of the day according to outside temperature to minimize the gap, preventing the motors from getting overly taxed. By taking good care of the system, businesses avoid costly emergency air conditioning repair.
Our heating bill is higher than I think it should be every year. We’re investing in a programmable thermostat this weekend. It’s finally snowing and we can’t really get by just with sweaters and thick socks anymore.
I definitely think that it is a great idea to get a programmable thermostat. That would be a great way for you to save money and energy. I also think that it is important for you to keep up with maintenance. It may be a lot of work, but taking care of your system can help save you money down the road.