COVID-19, although a challenging time for most, has brought forth an opportunity for a number of businesses to look at finding efficiencies and cost savings within their operations. One of these efficiencies is an effort to reduce energy costs and find ways to create savings.
Commercial properties and businesses typically have higher consumption rates than residential. One of the most consumed components of energy from businesses is lighting.
We’ve outlined 6 simple tips to better help you achieve higher efficiencies and lower costs for your energy usage.
- Replace your incandescent bulbs.
Due to their low manufacturing costs, incandescent bulbs became very popular for household and commercial lighting for decorative and advertising lighting. These bulbs are far less efficient than other forms of lighting and convert less than 5% of the energy used into light. The other energy used gets lost as heat. These bulbs have a much shorter lifespan than other lights and typically produce one 1,000 hours for home light bulbs compared to 20,000-30,000 thousand hours for LED lights.
- Install LED (light-emitting diodes) where possible
LED lights use 75-80% less energy than incandescent bulbs and last 25x longer. In terms of cost savings for energy consumption, LED lights are a great way to go. Consider LED lighting for both indoor and outside lighting needs.
LED lights can provide a great solution when extremely bright light is needed (i.e. warehouses). It is important to ensure that you choose the proper light colour to ensure your areas are lit properly, we recommended consulting an electrician before choosing the colour and installing.
- Dimmers and/or timers
Timers are a great way to ensure that the lights are all off when your business has no active employees inside. Installing timers in office settings can ensure that you are reducing your energy costs when nobody is at the office. They can also be used to improve your security outdoors. Dimmers can be a great option for providing the right atmosphere based on what is happening in your office or allows your staff the ability to dim light when needed.
- Use wireless lighting devices
Automated lighting that can be controlled by your phones, tablets, watches or remotes is the new wave of lighting. This can be very helpful and convenient when you are off-site to ensure lights are off when needed and gives more flexibility than timers.
- Motion sensor lighting
Installing motion sensor lights will help to ensure that your lights are only being used when someone is active in your spaces. The light will turn on when it senses motion and turn off when the movement has stopped. They also have the option to set timers for how long the lights will stay on after a motion is detected.
- Programmable Thermostats
Programmable thermostats allow you to have more control over your heating and cooling systems. With the capability to set different temperatures for different times or days of the week allows for an energy efficient way to keep your building spaces comfortable and energy efficient. For example if your office is closed on weekends, you can program your thermostat to ensure you’re not cranking the heat while nobody is in the building.
Need help?
Our team at Floodlight Electric is knowledgeable on the variety of options available to businesses to increase energy efficiencies. Send us a message or give us a call to learn more.
