If you are a business owner, you would know that energy costs are going up to an all-time high. According to the statistics published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), roughly 33 percent of energy is wasted in an average office. While that may seem to be quite a lot and it is, the respite is that there is a small room for improvement. It can help you to bring down your energy costs for an entire year. Following are some of the steps that can help along the way.
HVAC Maintenance
It may astound you to know that the HVAC system accounts for about 50 to 60 percent of your building energy costs. Clogged filters, dirty ducts, coils, debris, dust-laden vents, and fatigued parts, make the system work harder. This in turn burdens the system, compelling it to work more, thus resulting in higher bills.
HVAC Cleaning and Restoration services are a must for keeping energy costs down. Changing the air filters on a regular basis, visually inspecting the system, recalibrating it bi-annually, etc. are some of the necessary maintenance tasks. Along with that, checking and cleaning drainage lines, AC evaporators and condenser coils etc. are important to make sure that your HVAC systems are optimally functioning. Having preventive measures of maintenance right from the beginning can help you to prevent unexpected breakdowns.
Construction Materials
Getting a little tricky in using good construction materials can also go a long way in bringing down the energy costs in the building. For example, using sputtering Target materials such as silver alloys to coat construction glass can help reduce the energy loss from the buildings. Besides, solar controlled properties help to prevent excessive heating inside the office building. The low emissive characteristics help to maintain a good and comfortable temperature.
Similarly, going for energy modeling can help you to optimize the insulation levels for the ceiling, walls, and floors. Also, while making the selection strategies that make it easier to insulate the building can help to minimize the thermal bridging.
Energy Efficient Lightings
Lighting is also an aspect that you need to carefully go over in order to save energy. According to the statistics, the commercial sector in the US, and public street and highway lighting consumed about 157 billion kWh for lighting in 2020. It was equivalent to about 12 percent of the total commercial sector electricity consumption and 4 percent of the total US electricity consumption for the year.
Electricity is necessary and it is not possible to reduce the usage of electricity in some places. Still it does not mean that you cannot save. By switching over to LED lights, you can save your total consumption of electricity. They have greater energy efficiency than CFLs and can last for many years. They do not have mercury inside and can meet a variety of lighting needs from extremely bright white to very soft and warm. Making the right selection and locating them inside the office space strategically can help. Utilizing the natural light along that can reduce electricity wastage, thus helping you to conserve energy in the office building.
The Last Word
There are a lot of aspects that go into the construction of a building. The hard work is subsequently carried on while installing various installations. Thus, if your aim is to construct energy-efficient buildings, keeping in mind the aspects mentioned above will help.