Some friends of ours are moving their business into a new office. Knowing about Energy Circle, they asked for some advice about how to make it energy efficient.
Energy Circle is geared toward homeowners, but we know that for a lot of small businesses, artists and entrepreneurs in small office spaces, energy efficiency is just as important as it is for homeowners. And with tenancy issues typical of businesses working in rented space - i.e. ambiguity about who is responsible for making upgrades - energy efficient retrofits that might save both landlords and tenants money are all too often relegated to the back-burner.
So we've come up with a battle-plan for reducing energy consumption in your office or working space. Like most of what we do at Energy Circle, the plan is practical first, focused initially on energy efficiency and cutting costs. That said, there is a world of worthy green choices and products that can follow, but for the sake of the planet and the wallet, we'd argue that reducing your energy consumption should be your first priority.
Here's the plan:
1) Measure. Efficiency starts with knowing. Without knowing how much energy you're using, it's hard to do anything about it - or to know what will work and what won't. An energy monitor gives you real-time energy usage data, along with the cost of that energy usage. Studies have shown that you're much less likely to use energy recklessly when you can see the pennies falling away in real-time. Our company favorite at Energy Circle is TED, The Energy Detective.
2) Make the most of your Heating and Cooling. The major culprit for excessive heating and cooling costs is an inadequate building envelope. This again could be one of those tenancy issues - you're renting, so it's not your responsibility to upgrade the insulation or the leaky windows. Still, with something as simple as a caulking gun or a roll of Mortite rope-caulk you can make a dent in the bill (and in your carbon footprint) by sealing any visible leaks around doors, windows and vents. The cost is minimal, and the payoff is significant.
Once your air sealing is taken care of, setting back your thermostat 10 degrees, 8 hours per day, will save about $15 monthly. If you'd rather not worry about it, try a programmable thermostat: it takes the burden off you, and provides energy savings without compromising comfort. Even at a crazy place like Energy Circle, where we're working pretty much around the clock, we've found that the office is still empty at least 12-14 hours a day. There's no need to pay to heat or cool the space when no one is around.
3) Deal with your Lighting. Put CFLs wherever you can. For ceiling cans, there is a growing array of high quality CFL reflectors that throw off great light and truly can be dimmed (with the right switch). Installing CFLs will save $5 per bulb, per year, in electricity costs, plus a buck or two in bulbs that you don't need to replace.
Bonus Points: Think about targeted spot-lighting. Particularly in smaller offices or creative spaces, there's no need to light the whole room with one switch. Even with fluorescents. Instead, put a CFL lamp at each desk - it will be used when it's needed, and switched off when it's not. We've been amazed to discover a bevy of well designed, CFL integrated lamps and fixtures at great prices.
4) Kill the Vampires. Probably the biggest opportunity in typical office settings is to cut the energy that are our computers, monitors, printers, projectors, etc., are using when they're not on. Plug in a smart power strip at every work station. You can count on each one you install saving your business about $5 per month in vampire energy expenses. Check out our earlier post and video explaining how to use a smart power strip.
5) Offset the rest. Once these basic steps are complete, consider a carbon offset. Carbonfund.org has a tag line: Reduce what you can, offset what you can't. We think that's a good one.
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