Conserving energy

Follow these top tips to conserve energy in your business.

In the office | In the factory

• Do you know how much energy you are using?  Do you know how much it is costing your business? Checking your energy usage when the site is not being fully used (e.g. overnight or during shutdowns) is a good way of identifying some of the wastage, for example equipment, lighting and heating that has been left on.
• Do you encourage/ train employees to switch off lights and equipment when they are not needed?  On average, offices waste €6,000 each year by leaving equipment on over weekends and bank holidays.
• Is your workplace effectively ‘zoned’ so that lights, heating and air-con can be controlled separately in different areas as required?  If you have a large building, have you considered a proper Building Management System (BMS) to control everything in a pre-programmed way?
• Do you make sure that computers and printers/ copiers/ scanners have the standby energy-saving mode activated?  Computers should be set by default to turn the monitor off after five minutes and go into full standby mode after 10 minutes. Even standby often uses over 20% of the full power consumption however, so switching off is best!
• Do you use A and A+ rated, energy efficient equipment?  Do you look for these when replacing old equipment such as fridges, dishwashers etc.?
• Are equipment, such as printers, food and drink dispensers, water chillers, water-heating urns etc. on plug-in timers?  Use plug timers so that they cannot be left on over night and at weekends.
• Do you keep your windows and doors closed while the heating is on?  If you don't you will be constantly loosing heat from your building.
• Are your thermostats turned down to around 21°C in the office and 19°C in corridors and storerooms?  Increasing temperatures by just one degree from these values will increase your heating costs by around 8%. Encourage staff to wear warmer clothes if they get a bit cold!
• Are your thermostats set in a suitable place, away from drafts and heat sources to give a representative temperature measurement?  If not, your heating will not be controlled properly and you will use more energy.
• 10. Do radiators have thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) that are set at a sensible (middle, e.g. 3 out of 5) setting and not tampered with by staff?  Is there adequate space left around radiators to allow them to dissipate heat effectively?
• Have you turned radiators down or off in areas that are little used?  For example corridors and storerooms where staff may not spend much time?
• Are all ducts and pipes containing hot air and water extremely well-insulated throughout?  Ducting will help prevent heat losses.
• Do you make the best of natural daylight to avoid switching lights on?  Do you keep windows and skylights clean? Do you have photocells controlling lights in areas with good natural light?
• Have you replaced your lighting with low energy types?  For example do you just use compact fluorescent lights (CFLs - the latest cold cathode types are best) and T8 (slimline) or even more efficient T5 super-slim fluorescent tubes?
• Do you have 50w halogen tungsten down-lighter spots?  If so consider replacing these with more efficient mini-CFLs (e.g. in 'can' style reflectors), new GU10/MR16 style LEDs (light emitting diodes) or small metal halide spotlights.
• Have you considered fitting passive infra-red motion sensors (PIRs) to control lighting?  Using these to control switching in areas that do not need light continuously, such as toilets, storerooms, meeting rooms etc. can save energy.

Need information, advice or support? Contact us on 1850-green1 (1850 473361) (helpline is available Monday to Friday between 09:00 and 17:00). Eligible companies may also submit a request for a free Resource Efficiency Audit. It is recommended that companies register and use the audit tools prior to requesting a Resource Efficiency Audit.