Energy Management Basics
A single computer uses 75% less energy each year if it is turned off overnight and during the weekends.
Lighting
Did you know?
Lighting systems use 30-50% of the energy in office buildings and is a primary source of heat gain and waste heat.
The break even point of turning off fluorescent tubes is 10 minutes.
Improved lighting enhances visual comfort, reduces eye fatigue, and improves performance on visual tasks and may also increase productivity and reduce absenteeism.
Group relamping offers significant savings in cost and labour over spot relamping.
No Cost/Low Cost Opprtunities
- Turn off lights when they are not needed.
- Use daylight –Improve furniture location and workspace layout to maximise the use of daylight. Use skylights.
- Maintain the lighting system. – Keep lamps, diffusers and fixtures clean and free of light-blocking dirt.
- Provide floor plans at banks of light switches showing the layout of lighting circuits in the work space so employees can locate the appropriate switch for their lights.
- Selectively relamp where lighting levels are excessive. • Initiate bulk replacement programmes for fluorescent lamps. Replace with New Generation Tri-Phosphor lamps for enhanced colour rendition and increased light output.
- Look for opportunities for direct task lighting, avoiding lighting large areas to excessive levels.
- Instruct cleaners (if applicable) to illuminate only those areas being cleaned. Investigate options for daytime cleaning and floor-by-floor team cleaning.
Equipment
Did you know?
- A single computer uses 75% less energy each year if it is turned off overnight and during the weekends.
- Monitors consume 80% of a computer’s energy.
- Much of the electrical use in a space will ultimately end up in that space as heat which leads too increased cooling costs
No Cost/Low Cost Opportunities
PC's, Photocopiers, Printers, etc
- Switch off all equipment when not in use. Contrary to popular belief, this does not harm them.
- Switch off your computer screen if you are away from your desk for more than 30 minutes
- Assign staff the responsibility of switching off all nonessential equipment overnight and during weekends.
- When purchasing equipment, look for energy efficient models with shut down timers and “sleep” modes. These use about half the energy of conventional equipment. For existing equipment, check to see if they have power management features.
- Ensure proper equipment setup and adjust work stations to each employees individual work habits.
- When purchasing new equipment, consider a combination printer/fax which consumes half as much energy as two stand alone products.
Lifts
- Encourage greater use of stairs for trips between only one or two floors.
- Make sure staircases are sufficiently lit and clear of obstructions – this will encourage staff to use the lift less.
Tea Room
- Turn off lights when not in use.
- Don’t boil a full water heater for drinks if you only need a small amount of hot water. Only heat what you need.
- Defrost fridges regularly, check that the temperature is set at 4 C and check the door seal is working correctly.
- Keep the back of fridges well ventilated.
- Use the dishwasher only when you have a full load. Rinse heavily soiled items under the cold tap first.
Building
- Ensure windows and doors are closed and provide an effective barrier between heated/cooled areas and other areas.
- Check the seals around doors and windows, and fit draught seals where necessary.
- Open and close blinds and curtains to control the amount of heat let in to your building and the amount you let out.
- Make the most of natural daylight and natural ventilation.
- If redecorating, choose light shades of colours to reflect light.
Commercial Hot Water
- Check for leaks and dripping taps.
- Reduce water temperature to the recommended 60 C if capacity allows.
Heating / Cooling
Did you know?
Insulation is a heating and cooling system with no operating cost. Up to 35% of heat can be conserved by the addition of ceiling insulation.
No Cost / Low Cost Opportunities
- Read and follow the operating and maintenance manuals.
- Identify the use of personal heaters and fans where a heating system already exists. These are indicators of performance problems.
- Investigate under desk panel heaters with thermostats and timers for staff with cold feet.
- Adjust time switches to activate only during hours of occupation. If an office is completely vacated after normal working hours, turn off air conditioning at least one hour before quitting time.
- In summer, close shades when sun is on windows and at night in preparation for the morning sun.
- Set controls so that space temperature is not maintained in an unnecessarily narrow control band. Try letting the system float between 25 C during summer and 20 C in winter.
- If your system provides humidity control, set humidity controls so that the system can float between 30% and 60% relative humidity.
- Ensure that air-conditioning system is in good working order. A managed maintenance contract is recommended, and should save up to 25% of maintenance costs in the long run.
- Clean filters as required. Install filter pressure sensors that indicate when filters are causing unnecessarily high pressure drops due to dirt build up.
- Use only the filters recommended by the manufacturer. Don’t leave out pre filters as they will clog rapidly.
- Don’t install washable filters until completely dry.
- Clean the heat exchange surfaces of coils periodically.
- All heating and cooling systems should have sufficient means of control to ensure that areas are only heated or cooled when occupied, and that areas are only heated or cooled to the required temperature.
- Make sure thermostats are correctly calibrated, not located in abnormally hot or cold locations, and that their operation is not obstructed or tampered with. Be careful that control devices are not isolated by architectural features.
Sources: Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority of New Zealand www.emprove.org.nz
US Environmental Protection Authority Energy Star www.energystar.gov