3 ENERGY SAVING TIPS FOR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS

Huge tall commercial buildings are energy drainers. Can you imagine how much electricity one entire building alone consumes, should all of the consumption be consolidated into one sole bill? Humongous, most probably.

Needless to say, if everyone occupying one part of a building does his own share in conserving energy, everything will add up to huge bucks – thus saving the environment from all the needless toxic fumes necessary in producing electricity.

Below are some ways on how building can help save energy. Remember, one watt saved matters a lot.

Control lighting. Admittedly, it’s cool to see a building so-well lit, that it becomes the source of light for the entire block. A well-lit building is seen from miles and miles away, and may stand out from every other building in the area. But is it really necessary that so much lighting be used even when it’s not needed? To save the environment, turn off all the unused lights. If you leave a room, turn off the room light. If you’re wary about having a dark unlit building, why not install motion-activated lights? This way, when the sensors see that no one is in a room, it automatically shuts down the bulbs and chandeliers.

You can also install dimmers – light switches which actually allow the user to adjust the wattage use based on need. Also use fluorescent lights instead of bulbs – they produce better lighting as compared to bulbs, thus decreasing the need to turn on more lights to compensate for the seeming darkness. If building construction allows it, undrawn the drapes, shades or curtains. Let in more natural lighting that actually does not use electricity.

Move the air. Unless you have a central air-conditioning system, turn off air-conditioners at areas where they are not being used. Turn down the thermostat, too. The less cool your cooling system is, the less power you consume. If you plan to leave the office at 5PM, then turn off the aircon at 4:30PM. All the contained cool air is enough to get you through the next 30 last minutes of your work day. Some companies also use electric fans to move the air. If some parts of your office are colder than others, don’t run to the building administrator and demand that more air vents be installed. Instead, turn on a few electric fans to distribute coolness. You end up conserving a load of power.

Turn off all office equipment when unused. This may seem like a small thing, but try to imagine 300 offices occupying one building and then turning off all equipment when unused – then this amounts to a lot! When conserving electricity, there’s always one rule – “Every little bit helps.” There’s no sense in keeping all 50 computer monitors turned on when only 30 report for work. When there is only one person in one huge room, then ask this person to use the computer beside a few other office mates.

Put computers, plasma monitors on sleep mode or standby mode, and maybe better – turn them off completely when they are not being used. When you leave the office, turn down the refrigerator thermostat, turn off the water cooler or coffee maker. Unless you plan on entertaining ghosts, you have no use for them. You not only save on electricity, you may even save your office or entire building from catching fire in case a fuse or connection explodes due to overuse.

Small things magnified translates to big things – do every bit of conservation, for the good of the planet.