Businesses waste energy in a large variety of ways. Unfortunately, this results in an excessive amount of money that is essentially thrown away. By minimizing the amount of energy that your business wastes, you can save money and perform your regular operations much more efficiently. In order to effectively prevent wasted energy, it is important to understand some of the most common ways in which businesses waste energy.
Failing to Monitor Energy Use
Unless you are actively monitoring your energy use, you will be unable to provide effective management for your company’s energy consumption. It is difficult to take the best steps to minimize your energy use when you are unaware of the ways in which your company is actually using its energy. By putting systems in place to monitor the energy use of your company, you can find places where your energy use is unnecessary or could be more efficient.
Waste Energy by Not Using Energy Management Software
Energy management software often provides one of the most effective ways to manage the energy consumption of your company. When you aren’t implementing the appropriate solutions, you will just waste energy. Energy management software not only monitors your energy use, but it will provide you with notice if an anomaly arises with your energy use. This can help to resolve the problem before it results in wasted energy, as well as expensive energy bills. Energy management software can help to gather all of your energy-related data in a single location, which can help you to stay organized and keep your data safe and protected.
Overcooling Office Space
Many employers err on the side of too much air, when the temperatures rocket skyward. This often results in a building becoming far too cold, which creates an uncomfortable environment. The amount of energy required to 
cool the building to that degree is ultimately wasted. In addition, employees may handle the overcompensation by plugging in space heaters to stay comfortable throughout the workday. This only wastes more energy. Many companies compensate for overcooling by propping doors and windows open, which wastes even more energy. Take the steps to keep your office building at a reasonable temperature, rather than keeping it at an uncomfortably cold one.
Not Adjusting the Temperature at Night
After your employees go home for the day, there is no need to keep the office heated or cooled. In fact, not adjusting the temperature before leaving the office for the evening is one of the most common ways that businesses waste energy. Many upgraded systems allow you to set automatic times for your heating and cooling systems. This can go a long way toward ensuring that the business is comfortable while occupied, but energy isn’t wasted when it isn’t. If you don’t have one of these systems, it is important to take the time to turn the heating and cooling systems off before you leave the office for the evening.
Having Multiple Systems Running
Many businesses are unaware when they have multiple systems running simultaneously. If both your heating and cooling systems are operating at one time, each system is working harder to regulate temperature and energy waste skyrockets. Not only does this increase energy bills, but it also increases the total amount of wear on your heating and cooling systems. This often results in more repair expenses later on. Ensure that you completely turn off one system before turning on the other.
Blocking Air Flow
When the vents of your building are blocked or covered, it forces the system to work much harder in order to provide cooling or heating services for the building. This both wastes energy and results in more wear on the system. Not only does this mean that repair costs are more likely to be necessary, but it also sends your energy expenses upward. Ensure that your air vents aren’t blocked by anything, like furniture or paper. Ensure that air flow is able to flow effectively throughout your vents.
Not Repairing Damaged Insulation
When insulation wears out or becomes damaged, it will likely allow energy to escape from the building. This makes it more difficult to keep the building at a comfortable temperature and often results in excessive energy waste. It is important to replace or repair damage to your building’s insulation whenever it becomes necessary.
Leaving Lights on at Night
Leaving lights on in the office overnight is unnecessary and wasteful. Ensure that you turn off all the lights before you leave the office for the evening. This can help to lower your energy expenses without resulting in significant amounts of effort for you or your employees. It is additionally important for you to ensure that lights are turned off in unoccupied areas of the building.
Not Upgrading Lightbulbs
Lighting a building takes up a significant portion of a building’s energy use. Upgrading to more energy efficient lightbulbs can go a long way toward saving money and minimizing energy consumption. In fact, these upgrades tend to have a rather high return on investment, as they last longer while simultaneously lowering your energy expenses. Spending money on upgrading your lightbulbs can minimize the energy waste of your company.
Keeping Equipment Turned On
Leaving equipment on when it isn’t in use results in substantial amounts of wasted energy. Ensuring that this equipment is turned off when employees leave for the day can help to save energy. Additionally, ensure that all employees have their computers set to turn off after they have been unused for 20 minutes. This will help to minimize the energy that is wasted when employees aren’t currently using their computers.
Not Repairing or Replacing Malfunctioning Equipment
When office equipment ceases to function effectively, it can waste extreme amounts of energy. Repairing the issues with the equipment can reduce the amount of energy that it drains. Replacing the equipment with a more energy-efficient version can similarly help to reduce wasted energy.
At Vitality Energy, we strive to ensure that your energy works effectively for you and your company. With effective energy management, you can reduce your energy expenses and ensure that your business uses energy as efficiently as possible. This can also be used as a branding point for your business. There is an increasing importance for businesses to implement energy efficient solutions and customers are more commonly searching for that when they choose a business. To learn more about how to prevent your business from wasting energy, contact our expert team at Vitality Energy today!
