Energy efficiency has increasingly become a significant consideration for businesses of all sizes over recent years.
This is for a few reasons – firstly, with the cost of energy soaring, businesses are being forced to manage their energy consumption just to keep their costs at a manageable level.
Secondly, sustainability is a key driving force in business at the moment with increased pressure from customers and other stakeholders. Energy-efficient facilities are a key part of this drive to reduce the carbon footprint of organisations across the country.
As such, how can businesses create more energy-efficient facilities to benefit both themselves and the environment?
Improve Insulation
Insulation is an area that many businesses can improve upon and it can have significant impacts on energy efficiency. Floors, walls and roofs are prime areas for heat loss and this can create a commercial environment that is difficult to regulate and more costly to maintain.
Additional insulation can be added without much hassle or specialist equipment, particularly when you’re working with the latest roof insulation products. With more effective insulation around your facility, you should require less energy to regulate internal temperatures and conditions.
Install Energy-Efficient Lighting
Lighting is another area that can contribute significantly to energy consumption. Industrial environments and other types of workplaces require bright light to ensure that worker safety is protected and to mitigate the risk of accidents – which often leads to staggering but essential energy bills.
However, energy-efficient lighting technology has come a long way and utilising this is recommended to reduce your energy consumption and ultimately your costs. Benefitting from as much natural light as possible is key to reducing your reliance on energy, but where artificial lighting is needed, measures such as motion sensors and timed switches can help to reduce wastage.
Harness Renewable Energy
One of the best ways to increase the energy efficiency of your facilities is to utilise renewable sources wherever possible. Solar and wind power are perhaps the simplest to implement and will significantly improve the sustainability of your business and its facilities.
Investing in renewable energy technology tends to be a large upfront cost, but the long-term benefits can be worthwhile and you’ll certainly be preparing for the future.
Utilise Smart Technology
As touched upon earlier, smart technology is doing wonders when it comes to reducing the energy consumption of businesses and facilities. Smart thermostats can help to regulate your work environments only where needed to ensure that energy isn’t being wasted.
Appliances and systems designed with energy efficiency in mind are brilliant ways to reduce water and energy consumption, all of which add up to reducing your costs and carbon footprint.
Making your facilities more energy efficient is a smart business decision and one that can have positive impacts on the environment too. Why not see how you can start adapting your facility?