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General
· Increase staff awareness of the cost of electricity.
· Develop an energy saving policy.
· Do an ‘energy walks round’ at different times of the day, and different days of the week, to see where your business is using energy.
· Consider switching electricity suppliers.
· Whoever locks up at night should turn off, and unplug, all electrical appliances.
· Appoint an individual responsible for energy saving matters.
Fridges
· Ensure there is ventilation space at the back of all fridges (at least 1 inch\2cm) – increases heat exchanging efficiency.
· Ensure cooling fins\pipes on back of fridge are clean – increases heat exchanging efficiency.
· Defrost and clean regularly – increases cooling efficiency.
· Allow hot food to cool before placing in the fridge – don’t waste electricity cooling hot food.
· Put the fridge in a cool area – there is no need to waste electricity cooling a fridges that is being heated by the sun or another appliance.
· Set the thermostat to the correct level – most fridges do not need to be set below zero degrees centigrade.
· Check the seals of the fridge – close the fridge door trapping a sheet of paper – can you pull the piece of paper out with NO resistance? If yes, the seal is not 100% OK and you are wasting electricity by letting cool air escape from the fridge.
· Leave the fridge door open for as little time as possible – not wasting electricity cooling hot air when you close the door again.
Office Equipment
· Turn computer monitors off when not in use.
· Turn photocopiers off at night or when not in use.
· Locate photocopiers in natural air flows to reduce air conditioning compensating for the heat photocopiers produce.
· Configure PCs to ‘hibernate’ or ‘go to sleep’.
· Turn off your PC printer – how often do you use the printer?
· Switching PCs off at night and the weekends saves about £130 per year.
· Unplug electrical appliances when not in use – some appliances use electricity even when turned off.
Lighting
· Replace ‘standard’ bulbs with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs.
· Replace older type T12 fluorescent tubes (38mm/1.5 inch diameter) with the newer T8 (26mm/1 inch diameter) fluorescent tubes. T8s use about 8% less electricity than T12s.
· Switch off fluorescent tubes when leaving a room – a fluorescent tube uses over 500 times more energy in 15 minutes than it takes to restart it.
Air Conditioning
· Open windows at opposite ends of each area to create air flow (natural air conditioning).
· Regularly clean air filters to increase air conditioning efficiency.
· Use fans to assist ‘natural air-flow’ then adjust the air conditioning.
· Use fans rather than air conditioning – fans use less electricity.
· Check air ducting, particularly joints, for leaks.
Heating
· Turn the water heating down – how often do you add cold water to hot water? Adding cold water to hot water is a waste of money.
· Don’t block radiators with furniture – blocking radiators with furniture reduces the effectiveness of the radiator.
· Don’t heat areas of the business that are rarely used, for instance store rooms.
· Draught proof windows and doors.
Links
‘Go Green – Save Money’ home page
Commercial Premises Electricity Bills – Facts And Figures
Lighting Maintenance Costs Savings
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This web page a series of tips and actions to help commercial premises reduce electricity bills.
The information on this webpage is part of the Judge Electrical ‘Go Green – Save Money’ campaign. |
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Reduce Electricity Bills – Small Businesses |
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Home > Go Green – Save Money > Reduce Electricity Bills – Small Businesses |
