Over the past few decades, the increase in the cost of electricity has been disproportionate to that of the inflation rate. With the surge of technology and electrical equipment (such as computers, HVAC units, etc.), electricity consumption has skyrocketed to the point where it has become essential to properly monitor and reduce these expenses as much as possible. So, here are our 3 tips on how you can reduce the electricity consumption of your building or facility.

1. Request a Free Electrical Audit from the Electricity Company

The word ‘audit’ is generally not a popular one. However, unlike a financial audit, an electrical audit (also known as lighting audit) can yield nothing but positive results. Since companies hold corporate contracts, most electricity providers will do no-cost audits, or you can always hire a private inspector.

The purpose of an electrical audit is to thoroughly examine electricity and energy consumption within a facility or company to determine how much electricity is spent in respect to the equipment being used. What this does is allow companies to review their electricity consumption and identify areas where they can cut expenses without lowering the quality of the work environment.

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2. Set Electrical Equipment on Auto-Timers

Whether or not the appliance is actually being used, it will continue to drain electricity as long as it is plugged into the socket or not shut down. Setting all appliances (with the exception of those that need to stay running, like refrigerators) on timers to ensure that they don’t stay on overnight is a great idea to reduce consumption.

You could always have an employee make the rounds at the end of everybody’s shift to make sure that everything is shut down, however this can be time-consuming and you are risking the chance of human error. Simply setting HVAC units and power supplies to coffee machines and computers, for example, to activate an hour before work hours and to automatically shut down an hour after the end of work hours could save up to 10% on your electricity bill.

3. Changing from 60-Watt to LED Lights

Although this tip would be more effective at larger firms, it wouldn’t hurt to do this at small to medium-sized firms too. We have all heard how LED lights consume less energy than their incandescent counterparts, but how significant can this saving be?

Taking into account that they not only spend roughly 70-75% less energy than their filament-infused friends, they also have significantly longer life spans – estimates place savings to be approximately $1 per month for every light bulb. Considering the large amount of light bulbs in firms this can stack up to thousands if not tens of thousands per year.

These were just some of the many ways you can reduce electricity consumption in your office. Effective and extremely simple, so get started now and start saving.