10 Ways to Reduce Energy Use and Costs in Your Building

1. Assess how your building consumes and wastes energy. Conduct regular energy audits to determine what condition your equipment is in and how it is performing. These audits will show where and how energy is being wasted and prioritize energy improvement measures.

2. Use more energy efficient equipment. Install new energy efficient equipment and replace or eliminate outdated, inefficient equipment. Look for Energy Star labels for equipment and appliances.

3. Match HVAC and lighting output to occupancy. Install programmable building controls that enable systems to provide light, heat and cooling to building spaces only when they are occupied.

4. Maintain equipment for maximum efficiency. Make sure that your equipment is properly serviced and maintained so that it runs as efficiently as possible. Increase operating efficiency of chillers, boilers and packaged cooling equipment through proactive service and maintenance.

5. Maximize lighting efficiency. Upgrade lighting to high efficiency bulbs and fixtures. Energy efficient lighting uses less energy and generates less heat, reducing your costs and easing the strain on your HVAC systems.

6. Measure water usage and waste. Conduct water audit in your facilities, campus, or geography to determine where water is being used and wasted. Reduce water consumption by installing low-flow equipment and fixing leaks.

7. Schedule cleaning during regular work hours. Experiment with different “day cleaning” schedules. Arrange cleaning schedules to overlap with work hours instead of having cleaning done after hours and keeping the lights, heating and air conditioning on at night. That will reduce energy consumption.

8. Insulate thoroughly. Insulate exterior walls, outlets, pipes, radiators, etc to reduce heat and cooling loss.

9. Meet LEED standards. Build, renovate, and operate your facilities according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. That will benefit your bottom line by lowering operating costs and increasing asset value. It will benefit the environment by conserving energy and water, reducing waste sent to landfills, creating healthier, safer occupant environments, and reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

10. Make building occupants more informed. Educate and engage building occupants to promote energy conservation and reward wise energy decisions and behaviors.

Source: Greenbiz.com

The energy saving tips above are generally not very costly and can save a substantial amount of energy.  A step further would be to install purpose-built energy- and water saving systems.  Hot water heating is a notorious energy consumer; replacing electric geysers and boilers with solar water heaters can reduce electricity bills by as much as 50%.  Solar energy is a clean, renewable resource that is particularly suited to South Africa with its high irradiation rates.  Solar water heaters combined with photovoltaic solar panels, with the current advances in solar  energy technology, can supply the bulk of daytime energy requirements to many businesses and homes.  Energy storage for night-time usage (and when it’s raining) is catching up to solar energy technology.

Water saving systems such as rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling can save vast quantities of precious drinking water.  Using potable water to flush toilets and irrigate gardens simply doesn’t make sense as the global water crisis approaches.

Water Rhapsody and Yes Solar Mpumalanga have combined to offer high quality water and solar energy systems to the South African public.  Water Rhapsody’s World Wildlife Award-winning water conservation systems are backed by 17 years of experience with branches through the country.  Yes Solar is an official distributor and supplier of Solsquare solar energy products.  We offer a full range of solar water heating solutions that are Eskom-approved ans fitted by accredited soalr installers.

Contact us for a free quote on a solar geyser, water system, rainwater tank or water tank (we are authorized Jojo Tanks dealers in the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces and offer their full range of JoJo water tanks and water tank stands at very competitive prices).  We are also suppliers of high quality Atlas Plastics products and water tanks.