Energy Efficiency Tips for Businesses

7/30/2019 Energy Efficiency Tips for Businesses

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Energy Efficiency Tips for Businesses

"Top Ten Tips"

The following simple no-cost/low-cost energy savings tips can be the startingpoint for your energy conservation efforts at your office or shop.

Turn off lights and equipment when not in use. Use available sunlight to illuminate your work spaces. Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps. Install LED (light-emitting diode) "EXIT" signs. Install occupancy sensors to automatically turn off lights. Control direct sunlight through windows with screens or film. Regularly change HVAC filters. Tune-up your HVAC units (clean and check refrigerant charge). Install programmable thermostats. Purchase ENERGY STAR office equipment.

Lighting

Turn off lights when not needed. For example, turning off fluorescentlights saves energy, extends overall lamp life and reduces replacementcosts. Myth: Turning lights on and off uses more electricity than leavingthe lights on.

Reduce or replace inefficient, outdated or excessive lighting within yourbuilding.

When replacing old lighting equipment, evaluate new technologies thatmay need fewer fixtures and/or fewer lamps within existing fixtures.

Ensure that light levels will remain at adequate levels before changing outtechnologies and/or reducing number of lamps.

Where practical, replace incandescent lamps with compact fluorescentlamps (CFLs). Ensure you install compatible dimming technology if CFLsare used along with a dimming system.

When fluorescent T- lamps burn out, consider retrofitting fixtures withT- lamps and changing from magnetic ballast to electronic.

Replace incandescent "EXIT" signs with LED signs. LEDs use about one-tenth the wattage and last times longer than incandescent-lamp signs.

Install lighting occupancy sensors that automatically turn lights on or off,depending on occupancy. These sensors work well in areas such asconference rooms, break rooms or individual offices that are not occupiedcontinuously.

Take advantage of natural daylight: turn off or dim electric lighting whenadequate sunlight is available to illuminate interior space.

Ensure outdoor lighting is off during daytime.


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Make sure you are getting the best possible light by cleaning fixtures andreplacing any yellowed or hazy lenses and diffusers twice a year.

Heating and cooling

Establish a preventative maintenance program for your heating, ventingand air conditioning (HVAC) equipment and systems. Maintenanceactivities can save up to % of fan energy and up to % of spaceconditioning energy use. Ensure that you regularly:

Change or clean all air filters, preferably every month. Clean all heat exchanger surfaces, water and refrigerant coils, condensers

and evaporators. Repair leaks in piping, air ducts, coils, fittings and at the unit(s). Replace defective equipment insulation, ducting and piping. Install a high efficiency packaged heating, ventilation and air conditioning

(HVAC) system. These can use up to % less energy than systems that

just meet minimum standards. Look for a high SEER (Seasonal EnergyEfficiency Ratio) or, on larger units, EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio). Youcan purchase units with SEER above or EER above . Specify high-efficiency air conditioning equipment when your system needs to bereplaced, and save % to % on your investment annually.

When old motors fail, replace them with premium efficiency motors thatoperate at a lower annual cost. Ensure you specify the proper sized motorfor the application. View cost reduction strategies for motors.

Install variable speed drives (VSDs) on large motor loads, whereappropriate, to further reduce energy usage.

Use outside air and water side-economizers for "free cooling" whenoutside air temperatures and conditions permit - during the spring and fall.

In facilities with older chillers, consider replacing them with new, energy-efficient units that operate at or below . kilowatts per ton. View achilled water system analysis tool to improve efficiency.

Reduce air conditioning and heating hours by installing a timer to turn offthe system when the building is unoccupied.

Install an energy efficient attic fan or evaporative cooler. Attic fans orevaporative coolers help reduce or replace air conditioner use.

Add controls to exhaust fans. Exhaust fans remove air that has alreadybeen conditioned. Install timers and switches to shut them off when theyare not needed or when the building is unoccupied.

Install an ENERGY STAR programmable thermostat to automate yourHVAC system. An "old-fashioned" thermostat turns the HVAC on and offbased on temperature, not whether the building is occupied, or whetheryou benefit from the cooling/heating. A programmable thermostat canoptimize HVAC operation " / " based on your needs. For example,instead of heating or cooling all night, so you can enter a comfortablebuilding in the morning, this "smart thermostat" can turn on the HVACone hour before you arrive, based on your daily/hourly needs. The cost can


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be $ to $ , and it could cut your HVAC costs about %. Add alocking cover to prevent tampering with thermostat settings.

Temperature control

In winter, set office thermostat offices between and during theday/business hours, and to degrees during unoccupied times.

In summer, set thermostats between and degrees during theday/business hours, and above degrees during unoccupied hours.

Adjust thermostats higher when cooling and lower when heating anoccupied building or unoccupied areas within a building, e.g., duringweekends and non-working hours.

During summer months, adjusting your thermostat setting up one degreetypically can save - % on cooling costs.

Consider installing locking devices on thermostats to maintain desiredtemperature settings.

Install programmable thermostats that automatically adjust temperaturesettings based on the time of day and day of the week. If you havemultiple HVAC units, set your thermostats to return to the occupiedtemperature a half an hour apart.

In larger facilities with energy management systems (EMS), verify thattemperature set points and operating schedules are correct for thecontrolled equipment. For EMS systems that no longer operate as initiallydesigned, consider a retro-commissioning project to restore the system'sfunctionality.

Office equipment

To conserve energy and reduce internal heat gain, turn off computers,monitors, printers and copiers during non-business hours. Do not leaveequipment in sleep mode overnight because it will continue to draw asmall amount of power.

To save energy during periods of inactivity, ensure that the built-in powermanagement system for your office equipment is active.

Ensure your screen saver is compatible with the computer's powermanagement features, and that the setup allows the system to go intopower saver mode.

Laptop computers use % less energy than a desktop system When purchasing new office equipment, look for ENERGY STAR. The

ENERGY STAR office equipment program promotes energy-efficientcomputers, monitors, printers, fax machines, scanners, copiers and multi-function devices that automatically power down during extendedinactivity. Energy saving of % or more is possible.

Install plug load controllers in cubicles to control multiple loads likemonitors, task lights and fans. These devises use a motion sensor that is


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incorporated with a plug load surge suppressor. Inactive equipment can beshut down when the cubicle is unoccupied.

Specify ENERGY STAR equipment when purchasing or negotiating acontract for new vending machines. The ENERGY STAR machinesincorporate energy efficient compressors with refrigeration and lighting

controls. Efficient vending equipment can save - % over olderequipment.

Laundry Service

Clean the lint from the clothes dryer after every load. T he efficiency ofthe dryer goes down when lint collects over the dryer filter. Run full loadsand use the moisture-sensing setting. Save % on your electric bill.

Keep the clothes dryer's outside exhaust clean. A clogged exhaustlengthens drying time and increases energy use.

Install high-efficiency commercial washers, including but not limited tofront-loading machines, which can cut energy costs up to % and useabout % less water ( to gallons of water per load, compared togallons used by a standard machine). Energy-efficient and front-loadingcommercial clothes washers also last five to years longer than standard,top-loading machines.

Refrigeration Equipment

Check temperature settings of refrigerators. The most commonrecommended settings are between - degrees and - degrees Fahrenheitfor freezers and between degrees and degrees Fahrenheit for

refrigerators. Do not leave the walk-in refrigerator door open when loading it. Install a

plastic strip curtain over the entrance and save up to $ per refrigeratoreach year.

Perform scheduled maintenance on refrigeration units. Keep evaporatorcoils clean and free of ice buildup.

Buy an ENERGY STAR commercial solid door refrigerator and freezer.Compared to standard models, ENERGY STAR refrigerators and freezerscan lead to energy savings of as much as % with a . year payback.Purchasers can expect to save $ annually per refrigerator and $ perfreezer.

Install energy-efficient case lighting. T fluorescent lamps and electronicballasts reduce lighting energy use and reduce the cooling load on thecompressor. Energy savings potential is % for beverage merchandisers.

Install evaporative condensers, instead of air-cooled condensers, to expelheat. Evaporative condensers use a wetted filter that increases the abilityto reject heat. Energy savings range from to % for grocery storerefrigeration systems.


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Install heat recovery systems to use heat removed from display cases toheat water. A . horsepower (hp) compressor can supply close to %of the hot water requirements in a medium-sized grocery store all yearlong.

Install lighting sensors in walk-in refrigerators. Install low temperatureoccupancy sensors or timed switches in walk-in coolers and freezers tocontrol lighting. Not only does this save lighting energy, it reduces theload on the compressor. Save up to $ /year.

Install pull-down blinds on open dairy and produce cases. During non-operating hours, these blinds keep refrigerated air from escaping.

Food Service Equipment

Install an insulated dishwasher. Replace a - to -year-old conventionaldishwasher with an insulated model and save up to $ annually.Insulated tanks reduce stand-by or idle energy consumption. A booster

heater spends several hours per day consuming energy in a "ready-to-use"mode. Insulated tanks can better maintain an outgoing sanitizing watertemperature at all times, thus, reducing stand-by energy consumption.

Purchase insulated cooking equipment whenever possible (e.g., fryers,ovens, coffee machines). Insulation retains more heat in the equipment.

Replace conventional gas fryers with infrared gas fryers or high-efficiencyatmospheric gas fryers and save up to $ /fryer annually.

Replace old, high-volume kitchen sprayers with high-velocity, low-flowmodels, and save up to $ , a year in hot water costs.

Employee involvement

Educate and encourage employees to be energy-conscious and to offerideas about how energy can be saved. Employee buy-in and involvementcan make or break your company's efforts to conserve energy.

Designate a "responsible party" to be responsible for and to promote good energypractices for the organization and/or facility. This individual should work withmanagement to facilitate energy savings ideas and strategies - optimizing energy use andcosts minimizes overhead and operation costs.

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Energy Efficiency Tips for Businesses