6 Simple Tips to Save Energy at the Office

January 16, 2014 by Star Energy Partners

Saving energy at work is just as important as saving energy at home. You can help lower the electric bill at both places by finding a low cost electricity supplier, like Star Energy Partners, and by also comparing rates for commercial energy prices. However, there are several simple tips that can be utilized at the workplace.

1. Know city peak electric hours. Electric rates peak at two different times: 7 A.M. – 9 A.M. and 3 P.M – 7 or 8 P.M, although peak hours do vary by city. Schedule sizeable jobs with high electric use, such as a large amount of copies, heaving printing, significant IT maintenance, around those peak hours.
2. Don’t make work home to Mr. Freeze. It’s common for work places to overdo air conditioning during the summertime. If employees are wearing fingerless gloves and blankets, it’s time to reevaluate the AC setting. One option is to lower the setting during peak electric hours, and raise it during off-peak hours. Turn off the AC at night and on weekends, turning on the air in the morning before work, and install a programmable thermostat so those changes happen automatically.
3. Don’t overchill equipment. Most IT rooms must be kept cold so servers don’t overheat, but other areas of the office don’t need to be chilled. File cabinets, office furniture, and paperwork-filled boxes don’t need to be kept cold. You can put all the servers into its own smaller, cool room, and avoid chilling equipment that doesn’t require it.
4. Insulate the walls. This is done at home to lower bills, and it can be done at work too. Also, consider wrapping hot water pipes and switching to a tankless water heater, which can be up to a third more energy-efficient than a traditional hot water tank.
5. Unplug all pluggables. Appliances still draw electricity when they’re switched off. Appliances guilty of this include coffee machines, water coolers, vending machines, computers and monitors, desk equipment, LED display boards and other assorted devices. Unplugging all the “vampire electronics” is a simple solution to save money, and requires little effort for the employee.
6. Kick out all employees. Consider allowing your employees to work from home one day a week, and keep the office dark. There are many web-based technologies and unified communication systems that can be used to carry on business as usual. Employees will be glad not to commute, and you’ll drastically save energy.

These tips don’t require much spending and can be implemented without negatively impacting employees. Combining these energy-saving actions can add up to substantial savings and result in a drop in the electric bill.

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