Commercial Energy Saving.

Where can I save energy around my business?

Every business uses electricity in different ways & as such businesses need a tailored solution to adjust to the low carbon economy. Now Energy is at the forefront of energy saving solutions for South Australian businesses, large & small. We have provided some examples below to assist you to find opportunities to save money on your electricity bills.

Lighting.

Lighting can be a significant cost for South Australian businesses. regardless of whether you are operating in an office or a manufacturing plant everyone needs light. We have listed some of the most typical types of lighting used in SA businesses & the possible replacements that are available.

Lighting Type	Current situation.	Solution.
Halogen Downlights.	These downlights typically operate at 40w per globe per hour.	LED downlights provide the same light output using 9w. The other benefit is that LED's run cooler & last longer. more about LED downlights.
Fluro Lights.	These tubes are usually 36w ea & tend to last around 15,000 hours.	LED Fluro replacements typically only consume 22w which represents a saving of 45% & they will last around 30,000 hours. More about LED fluro lighting.
High Bay Lighting	High bay lighting is very common in blue collar industry. These lamps use up to 400w per light.	LED high bay lighting can provide the same light using up to 70% less power. More about LED high bay Lights.
Floodlights.	Floodlights & security lights are typically power by an extremely power hungry MH or HPS globe.	LED floodlights can easily replace MH or HPS floodlights using up to 70% less power than MH or HPS. More about LED floodlights.

Inefficient office fridges.

Older inefficent fridges are commonly used by particularly smaller businesses. These fridges are typically brought into the workplace when the boss replaces the fridge at home. Although these actions can be quite cost effective from a capital expenditure point of view, the overall running costs of an older fridge can quickly negate the cost savings from recycling an older fridge.

An old inefficient fridge can use as much as 1400kw per year. That's approxiamtely $450 worth of electricity per year. New efficient fridges can use as little as 350kw per yr. or $112 worth of electricity.

So by spending $600 on a new efficient fridge will not only pay for itself within 2yrs, your staff will be happier with a new fridge.

Heating & Cooling.

Heating & cooling is typically a significant part of commercial energy cosnumption. Heating & Cooling alone can account for as much as 40% of a businesses energy consumption. Installing high grade insulation & draft prevention products can significantly reduce your reliance on heating & cooling.

Standby Power.

Standby power can be a significant cost for many businesses, especially those that operate many computers & printers. It doesn't sound like much but if your PC's are in standby mode you are still using up to about 6w per hour per computer.

If a business is running 10 computers then you are looking at up to 60w per hr when in standby. If your business operates during normal business hours 5 days per week, you will be running standby power for 128 hours per week. 7.6kw per week = $2.42 per week or $126 per yr.

If you also operate 10 ink jet printers the cost will be an additional $126 per yr.

If you also operate older CRT type monitors this figure will be more again.

The simple solution is to operate standby energy saving devices. For more information click here.

Hot Water Consumption.

Many businesses use a significant amount of hot water daily. Depending on your business type hot water usage can be as much as 30% of your total energy consumption. Even for small offices where there is typically an electric hot water system under the sink will be using a significant amount of money heating water. A 25 or 50L undersink hot water system typically uses a 2.4kw element that is connected to the peak electricity supply.

A 2.4kw element will heat 41 litres of water per hr & a 2.4kw element will cost approxiamtely $0.76 per 41 litres of hot water. By upgrading to a solar hot water system you can save 80% of the electricity bill relating to hot water.

If you are only using 41 litres of hot water per day to wash hands & dishes, your business is spending $280 per yr.

Obviously if you are in an industry that consumes more than 40 litres of hot water per day, like a motel could be spending many thousands of dollars per year.

We operate a specialist hot water business that assists conusmers & businesses to upgrade to energy efficient hot water systems. For more about commercial hot water solutions click here.

If you would like to work out how energy can be saved around your business please call us on 1300 685 774 to arrange a FREE onsite audit of your energy needs.