Do you know how much difference your lighting is making to your business energy bill?
Making efforts toward implementing more energy efficient lighting has both short-term and long-term benefits for your business. Upgrading your lighting and implementing efficient practices within the workplace can help you reduce energy and maintenance costs and improve the energy efficiency of your business, and here are 5 ways to do it.
Change your bulbs
Switching to LED light bulbs can be quick and easy to do and doesn’t require a large investment. If you haven’t already done this, it’s something to get onto.
LEDs use significantly less energy than other types of light bulbs and can last up to 50,000 hours. Using these will save you on maintenance and replacing bulbs. As they don’t produce as much heat, they are also safer and will not add heat to the space which can sometimes result in higher air conditioning costs.
Take things a step further and install energy efficient exit signs. Exit signs can often be overlooked, but as they are on all the time, they can use a lot of energy.
Turn the lights off
An easy and effective way to reduce lighting costs is to turn lights off when you leave a room.
Avoid leaving your office lights on all day, especially in transitional spaces that people don’t spend too much time in, such as entryways and bathrooms, office kitchens and meeting rooms. Put up reminders for staff to turn lights off in empty rooms.
Consider zone lighting, so you have more control over your lighting, especially if you have a large workspace. This will help you reduce lighting where you don’t need it.
Switching off the lights when you leave a room is easy to do, but it can also be easy to forget, especially if you work in a big office space. Installing motion sensor lighting is one way to get around this potential problem. This takes out the human element so you don’t need to keep reminding staff to turn lights off and will prevent lights from being left on overnight or over the weekend.
Remove excessive lighting
As many workspaces can be overlit, it is worth considering how lights are used in different rooms and spaces. Do you have more lighting than is necessary? If so, this could be costing you.
Assess how much lighting you need within various spaces, from work areas and meeting rooms, to storage rooms, to hallways, kitchens and bathrooms, and remove unnecessary lamps and lighting. Don’t waste energy overlighting a space that doesn’t need it, or at the very least don’t bother lighting it all day if only used for short intervals.
As well as impacting your electricity bills, overlighting can impact the working environment, creating glare and sometimes even causing headaches for your employees. Too much light can sometimes be as bad as too little.
Utilise natural light
Sunlight is free so take advantage of natural sunlight in your workspace. Place work stations close to windows and naturally lit areas within the office.
Keep curtains and blinds open during the day and remove anything blocking natural light from coming into the office. Make use of skylights or get some installed if possible to brighten dark areas within your premises. Using lighter colours on walls can also help to brighten up an office space.
Get out of the habit of turning lights on when you walk into a room, especially if there is enough daylight. Sunlight is also an instant mood booster, so having more natural light in the office will have your team feeling happier.
Next Green Group
As well as reducing electricity costs, reducing your lighting can have a positive environmental impact. Another way for businesses to reduce energy costs is to look into energy saving initiatives offered by energy retailers like Next Business Energy.
Today, many businesses are looking for cleaner energy and cost-effective energy, however, there has been a lack of turnkey solutions for customers. This is where the Next Green Group comes in.
The Next Green Group is the new umbrella company that combines Next Business Energy and the Green Guys Group. Designed to help Australian businesses towards a zero carbon world, Next Green Group is Australia’s first Green-Tech-Tailer. Next Business Energy work closely with the Green Guys Group which offer energy efficient products with the aim to reduce energy consumption, such as through your lighting.
The Next Green Group is built on four strategic pillars: energy retail, renewable energy generation, energy efficiency, and demand response (DR). These pillars are aimed at providing customers with maximum savings by driving down energy and environmental costs.
For more information about the Next Green Group contact us.