If you want to be considered a responsible business in 2019, then one area that you need to be focusing on is reducing your carbon footprint. Being environmentally conscious and eco-friendly has never been so important as the human race finally begins to realize and acknowledge the damage we’re causing to planet Earth.
One of the most effective ways that your business can play its part in helping to bring down its energy consumption is by making adjustments to your commercial property. On the face of it, that may sound like an expensive and time-consuming commitment, but in reality, most investments in environmentally friendly equipment pay for themselves in reduced bills and even goodwill from an impressed public.
Here are three ways in which you can make your commercial property more energy efficient.
Install LED bulbs and sensor controls
It’s not unusual for many commercial properties to leave their lights on all day, every day. Which, when you look at the numbers, is mad. Electricity costs in commercial buildings in the United States total around $190 billion, yet 30 percent of that is wasted. That’s a lot of money and energy we’re burning through for no reason.
Switching your commercial properties lightbulbs to LEDs can help to reduce the amount of energy they burn through while installing sensors can help to reduce unnecessary waste by turning lights off in areas such as toilets, stairwells, and conference rooms when nobody is around, only switching them on when they detect a presence.
Consider installing solar power
If you’re running a huge factory which requires a similar amount of energy to the 14,880 kWh of electricity which Louisiana gets through on an annual basis, then solar power isn’t going to be of much use to you. If, however, your commercial property is an office, then by covering the roof of your building with solar panels, you can start producing your own electricity which will not only reduce your carbon footprint but also your energy bills.
Solar can be used to power HVAC systems, computers, fans and lightbulbs. You can even increase your ability to generate solar power by having flat roofing installed on your property, which will ensure that you can harness the power of the sun throughout the day rather than just when it is directly facing panels on a slanted roof.
For more information about flat roofing, a company such as CMS Roofing can carry out a CMS offers free commercial roof inspection Charleston, SC, to advise you of your options.
Become energy efficient with IT
IT systems are among the biggest electricity consumers in commercial buildings in the 21stcentury. You can help to reduce their contribution to your carbon footprint by upgrading your technology to the latest, most energy efficient possible. This is especially important when it comes to the main server, which powers everything else.
You should make sure that all computer systems are set to their optimal power saving settings so that they sleep when they are not in use and are turned off overnight. If you still use old CRT monitors which burn through power, consider replacing them with LED screens which require far less energy to work.