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Energy saving tips
Lighting
Þ Lighting is probably the easiest and most cost effective way to save energy.
Þ Great news, when it can account for up to 50% of a building’s electricity usage.
No cost energy saving hints
Þ If nobody is using the room, turn the light off.
Þ Remove or disconnect unnecessary lights.
Þ Remove objects that are blocking windows.
Þ Ensure someone is responsible for switching off lights at the end of the day and weekends.
Þ Use natural light as much as possible.
Þ Check existing lamps are the most efficient light source for the application.
Þ Clean all luminaries, lamps and windows.
Þ Ensure all light coloured surfaces are regularly cleaned and paint dark walls and ceilings with lighter colours to reflect and maximise available light.
Þ Switch off illuminated signage and exterior feature lighting.
Þ Use task lighting to directly illuminate work areas.
Þ Schedule cleaning services during the day, or use a minimum number of lights when cleaning.
Þ Colour-code switches that should remain off when cleaning.
Technical energy saving options with varying cost
Þ Replace flickering, dim and burned-out lamps.
Þ Investigate the use of sensors or timers for controlling lights in areas
Þ with low occupancy rates.
Þ In a partitioned office consider the height of the partitions.
Þ Use compact fluorescent lamps over incandescent bulbs.
Þ Check luminance levels and reduce lamp wattage or de-lamp wherever appropriate.
Air conditioning
Þ Simple steps such as cleaning and adjusting settings on your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning can reduce costs substantially.
No cost energy saving hints
Þ Turn off or close vents where there are unnecessary cooling or heating.
Þ Adjust temperature settings according to the season.
Þ Control air conditioning with thermostats and timers.
Þ Ensure that the thermostat sensors are correctly located away from heating or cooling devices, heat producing lamps and sunlight.
Þ Avoid personal heaters when air conditioning unit is operating.
Technical energy saving options with varying cost
Þ Install awnings and blinds to help control the room temperature.
Þ Equipment should be properly serviced and operating efficiently.
Þ Check with your HVAC Maintainer regularly to achieve the most effective cost savings.
Þ Clean and replace filters regularly.
Refrigeration
No cost energy saving hints
Þ Minimize refrigerator door opening time and check door gasket condition - poor seal allows increased infiltration and higher cooling load; and leads to frequent defrosting.
Þ Check thermostat setting - is the set temperature lower than necessary?
Þ Check thermostat accuracy - ensuring the dead band is not too wide, leading to overcooling.
Þ Place frozen food deliveries into freezer as soon as possible.
Þ Cover liquids - evaporation leads to more frequent defrosting.
Þ Defrost - check that the defrost cycle removes all ice on the evaporator plates.
Þ Make sure there is adequate ventilation around the fridge, freezer and at the top and back of refrigeration equipment. If the unit has a coil, check that it is cleaned regularly to remove dust and fluff. Energy consumption will increase if the heat cannot be dispersed.
Technical energy saving options with varying cost
Þ Replace with more efficient equipment, or upgrade to one with heat recovery included.
Kitchen
No cost energy saving hints
Þ Ensure kitchen appliances such as zips, coffee percolators, water coolers etc are switched off after hours. Use only as and when required.
Þ Preheat equipment just before using, not at the start of the day.
Þ Turn off equipment not required immediately.
Þ Check oven doors are closed properly and seals are in good condition.
Þ Check that heating elements are not loose.
Þ Schedule cleaning to avoid using additional energy. Clean equipment before it cools if a hot surface is required for cleaning.
Þ Use a microwave where possible - it is the most efficient heating method.
Þ Avoid running ventilation equipment at full capacity if not required.
Þ Keep filters in extraction equipment clean to reduce fan power required.
Þ Always use the right sized saucepans on burners or electric plates, so that the pan covers the hotplate completely.
Þ Ensure that refrigeration equipment is not located in a hot environment.
Þ If this is not possible, protect from heat sources as much as possible.
Technical energy saving options with varying cost
Buy energy efficient equipment (Energy Star rated etc).
Install Solar hot water systems.
Install instantaneous heaters in kitchens, and reduce bathroom tap temperature to 40C for hand washing.
Hot water
There are several low cost options to help reduce your hot water usage and costs.
No cost energy saving hints
Check hot water cylinder-temperatures should be set at 60ºC.
Use hot water sparingly and ensure hot water tap is firmly shut off after use.
Technical energy saving options with varying cost
Repair leaking hot water taps.
If the pipes above the hot water cylinder are warm to touch then fit lagging at least 2 meters from cylinder. If the hot water cylinder is warm to touch, then fit a cylinder wrap.
Install flow restrictors and self-closing taps
Replace conventional taps with tempered spray taps. This can save up to 60% of the energy used by a conventional tap.
Install a time-of-use controller to turn off your water heater when not needed.
Computers/Office equipment
In most work/office environments we can make quite dramatic gains in our energy efficiency by simply changing settings, buying more carefully and changing our work habits.
No cost energy saving hints
Switch off all PCs at the end of every day and weekends.
If you going to be away from your computer any longer than 15 minutes switch off your screen.
Make sure all printers and photocopiers are switched off at the end of every day and weekends.
Don’t replace if you can share a printer or copier instead.
Activate sleep or power-down features when possible.
Technical energy saving options with varying cost
Buy energy efficient equipment (Energy Star rated etc).
Use laptop computers wherever practical. They consume between 70-90% less energy than desktop computers.
Air pumps
For most industrial equipment, focusing on leaks and general maintenance will offer you the largest and most substantial gains.
No cost energy saving hints
Clean and maintain regularly.
Check for any leaks or evidence of leakage.
Reduce pressure to a minimum.
Technical energy saving options with varying cost
Change pump location.
Install energy recovery units to capture excess heat.
Trim the impellers to improve efficiency.
Install controls – many systems don’t need the pump to run continuously.
Motors/commercial appliances
In general, savings come from either using machinery in a more efficient way, or using a more suitable piece of machinery for a given task.
No cost energy saving hints
Use an on/off control system so the motor is only on when needed.
Check general wear on mechanical machinery.
Can you get rid of it, or just run it off peak.
Technical energy saving options with varying cost
Maintain them. They will be more reliable, trouble free and last longer.
Install more efficient machinery.
Downsize oversized motors/appliances. Motors are inefficient when running at less than 50% of rated load.
Install variable-speed drives. This can reduce motor energy use by between 10% and 70%.
General
No cost energy saving hints
Switch off all electrical equipment when not in use.
Use stairs instead of lifts wherever possible.
Technical energy saving options with varying cost
Use Energy Star equipment and appliances wherever possible-this rating helps you identify the most energy efficient models on the market. It is important to consider the lifetime cost of energy efficiency rather than the initial outlay. You may spend a bit more to begin with, but the savings will come.
Energy efficiency facts
Almost all businesses can find cost savings in their energy bills, which will translate directly in profits.
Take small incremental steps in your improvements. This way you will start to consider your actions and start to see that the small gains made are really worth it.
The ideal time to make many of these choices is when you first buy or rent a facility, remodel your work environment or when you are replacing equipment.
Some things are worth replacing right away – others can wait until they have become outdated and need changing anyway.
Below are a few simple examples of how businesses can save through better management of their energy usage in the work place.
Replace your 100 incandescent light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Lamps
Payback in 4 months and then save 70% on your lighting costs from then on.
First time costs $700 $100
Annual replacement costs $154 (22% replaced each yr) $200 (all replaced twice a yr)
Annual Energy cost $768 $2847
Total Annual Cost $922 $3047
Annual Savings $2125
Assumes: 6Hrs/day @ 13c/kWh
Much of the heat lost from the heating of water is through poorly insulated water pipes and tanks.
Hot water cylinder wrap* $70-$120 $22-$80 1-5yrs
Hot water pipe wrap* $5-$20 $16 4-8 months
*Source EECA
A regular PC takes around 120W to run (laptops and flat screen monitors are more efficient).
This is around 2.88kWh used in a 24 hour day.
If you had 20 PCs running over a 24hr period you would use 57kWh.
Using an energy cost of 14 cents per kWh we have worked out a saving that can be easily made by simply turning off your PC’s when they are not being used.
Figures based on 20 PC’s
Weekend period (48hrs) $15.96
52 weekend periods $829.92
Optimizing compressed air systems can provide energy-efficiency improvements of 20-50%
A 500 kPa compressed air system operating at 1500 hrs per year has a single hole of between 1-3mm in size. Repairing this leak will save around $272 per year and a tone of CO2.
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