Top Ways to Save Energy on Commercial Properties
Energy is progressively becoming more expensive, which is why it is essential for anyone in the commercial building industry—including healthcare, entertainment venues, offices, residential buildings, religious buildings, building development, manufacturing, retail, and nonprofits—to know not only how to save money but keep up with their sustainability initiatives. Here are a few examples to get your started.
Change your HVAC
One of the biggest energy consumers in commercial buildings is the heating ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC). To reduce your HVAC energy consumption, you could either upgrade existing equipment, or if your goal is to increase its longevity, performing routine maintenance on your existing system is an effective strategy.
When it comes to maximizing energy efficiency, technology such as geothermal heat pump systems are highly efficient and can result in sound investment returns when maximizing available green energy incentives.
Change Your Lighting System
Many commercial buildings today have inefficient lighting systems that consume far more electricity than necessary. To put this into perspective, LED lights are up to 70% more efficient than traditional florescent lighting and last exponentially longer. Furthermore, studies have shown that the lighting in your building can significantly affect occupant wellness and productivity
Install Solar
Solar panels are one of the best ways to reduce long-term operational costs, especially when packaged with compatible high efficiency systems. Installation options range from mounting panels on the roof of your building to creating a solar field in any available open space nearby. The benefits of installing solar panels are numerous; they include the ability to sell excess energy back to your electricity provider, leveraging green marketing advantages, and typically seeing a return on investment within ten years.
Smart Technology
Using smart technology is ideal for optimizing your buildings due to its versatility. In commercial settings, a significant portion of costs accrues during off-hours. By utilizing smart technology, you can minimize these expenses by remotely controlling various systems such as HVAC, lighting, and ventilation, turning them on and off as needed.
Manage Your Water Usage
In many commercial buildings, water consumption plays a significant role in achieving sustainability goals. Some effective measures include installing rain sensors on irrigation systems, lowering water pressure, and insulating pipes. While there are numerous other strategies to regulate water usage, these examples illustrate that there are practical ways to reduce it.
Proper Insulation
Proper insulation in your building helps maintain consistent temperatures, which can significantly reduce HVAC usage. Effective insulation involves more than just the walls; it also includes other elements like pipes and windows. Ensuring these parts are well-insulated can lead to considerable energy savings.
Develop an Energy Strategy
An energy audit involves having an engineer analyze your building’s energy usage. However, standard energy audits often fall short because they identify issues and suggest Energy Improvement Measures (EIM) but don't offer a comprehensive overview, such as a financial analysis or a strategic action plan. Utilizing the help of a specialist can save you time by consolidating necessary actions and not leaving the burden of decision making on you alone. At GEMM, we go beyond basic assessments by providing a comprehensive actionable Energy Master Plan and providing support from project inception to completion. Often, building owners are left uncertainty after an audit, but with GEMM’s approach, we can promise you will have clear solutions and the means to implement them effectively.
GEMM bridges the gap between good financial business decisions and sustainability goals. Contact us for an actionable Energy Masterplan.