Where we get our energy from and how it is being used is becoming an ever more important topic, both on an organisational level with the introduction of the Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) last year and internationally – take the political storm surrounding the proposed new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point.
The Carbon Trust calculate that an eco-conscious office could potentially lower their energy bills by up to 65%. Whilst it is fair to say that many of the biggest energy saving techniques can be very expensive, there are still simple, cost-effective steps that can be taken to reduce the energy usage in your office.
Here are our 5 ways to save energy at work:
Close doors and windows when air conditioning or heating is on
Balancing the needs of everyone in an office is a difficult challenege, but whereas some people may feel cold whilst others are hot, opening windows or doors when the heating or air conditioning is on is paramount to throwing money down the drain. Instead, ask to have your air con unit or heater individually controlled or keep a spare jumper in your desk.
Replace incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs
LED bulbs offer energy savings of typically 40%. Many bulbs can be swapped out without the need for an electrician, and the cost of LED has fallen dramatically in recent years. Historically LEDs gave a cold, blue hue but the latest generation of bulbs can recreate any colour temperature.
Switch devices off
Make sure that you turn lights off when you leave a meeting room and that you switch your computer and monitor off when you leave each night. Also, small acts like reducing your PC monitor brightness from 100% to 70% can save up to 20% of the energy the monitor uses.
Employ daytime cleaning schedules
By working with your cleaning contractor, it should be possible to employ daytime cleaning rotas. This means cleaners operate alongside office staff during standard office hours, reducing the out-of-hours operational demands on your office, saving energy on several additional hours of heating, and lighting each evening.
Take the stairs
By walking up and down stairs instead of using a lift is not only good exercise, but is an effective energy saving measure. Each time you call a lift, large amounts of power are used by the lift motors.
An environmentally conscious cleaning partner
As well as advising on the viability of daytime cleaning services to reduce your organisation’s energy usage, we also use the latest low energy equipment and techniques such as cold water or waterless cleaning to reduce the amount of hot water we use, which all contributes to a lower environmental impact.
If you would like to learn more about our premium contract cleaning services, please contact us on 0800 4488026 and discuss your unique requirements with our friendly customer service team.
