Saving energy in the office is good for business, because not only does it cut expenses, it is also environmentally sensible and responsible. There are several things that you can do to save on energy costs in your office. They range from simple tasks like turning off the lights to ambitious upgrades like replacing your entire air conditioning system. Try the following tips to help you reduce energy cost in your office.

Turn Off The Lights

Totally obvious, right? Wrong. It is not as obvious as one may think. Consistent with a survey conducted by Lutron, 90% of Americans know of someone who fails to remember to turn the lights when exiting a room. Do you have reminders to turn off lights posted next to the switches in conference rooms? Have you ever considered motion-activated lights in little-used halls or shared areas, that will shut off after a period and turn on when someone enters the room? Come up with ways to remind individuals to turn the lights off, or have them turn on and off automatically.

Upgrade Your Lights

Incandescent light bulbs are being phased out since LED and fluorescent lights are better energy choices. But even if your space is fitted with fluorescent lights, you may want to upgrade, as older versions tend to be less energy efficient.

The focus is on lumens when looking for replacement bulbs. Lumens measure the amount of light that a bulb delivers. Find energy efficient bulbs that deliver the lumens you need.

Pay attention to your Exit signs as well, since they are often a high energy use. You upgrade them to run off LED lights.

Use Power Management Settings on Equipment

Screensavers used to be the office craze, but not anymore. These days, a black screen on a computer screen that is not in use is a gorgeous sight. Use the recommended power management settings on your computers, printers and other office equipment, to shut them off or go into hibernate mode when not in use.

Move IT to the Cloud

You may want to consider throwing out your computer servers and switching to cloud-based systems instead. Say goodbye to running numerous servers or cooling of that hot data centre. Furthermore, your employees can telecommute. According to a survey completed in 2010, a small business with 100 users could reduce its carbon footprint and energy expense by 90% by moving to the cloud.

There can be many reasons to make the move — or not — to the cloud. But when assessing the move, be sure to consider the energy impact as one factor.

Replace Old Equipment with Energy Star Rated Equipment

It may the refrigerator in the break room, the exhaust fans in the restrooms, the photocopiers, the HVAC system or the lighting — it would be in your best interest to upgrade to energy efficient models, particularly if you have a lot of older equipment. Energy Star is a self-regulating rating organization for energy efficient products; so, look out for the Energy Star symbol and ratings.

Make Faucets, Toilets and Water Heaters Efficient

Leaky faucets and fixtures can amount to hundreds to thousands of dollars in water bills every year. You should insulate your water heater if needs be and adjust the temperature to cut back on heating costs. Experts suggest that you should set your heater between 110 and 120 degrees.

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