The Fulcrum

8/15/10

TOP TIPS FOR ENERGY SAVING AT THE OFFICE AND AT HOME

7/27/6

Looking for ways to be an environmentally friendly company AND save money on utility and gas bills at the office? We’ve gathered a list of easy tips for you.

1. Ask someone on your design staff to research green building technologies and be your in-house expert. You will find that many of your clients are excited about design that is eco-friendly AND he or she can spearhead an effort to make your own company green. A couple of great online resources:

- US Green Building Council, http://www.usgbc.org/
- US Environmental Protection Agency, http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/greenbuilding
- BuildingGreen, Inc., http://www.buildinggreen.com
- ENERGYSTAR, http://www.energystar.gov

2. When purchasing new products for the office or home, look for ENERGYSTAR information. Products with the ENERGYSTAR seal. ENERGY STAR products are the same or better than standard products, only they use less energy. To earn the ENERGY STAR, manufacturers must meet strict energy efficiency criteria set by the US Environmental Protection Agency or the US Department of Energy. Since they use less energy, these products save you money on your electricity bill and help protect the environment by causing fewer harmful emissions from power plants.

3. Ask employees to unplug various electronics or better yet, the power adapters, after turning them off. Things like computers, printers, adding machines, etc. still draw power even when turned off. According to the EPA, adapters draw electricity as long as you have them plugged in, with or without the laptop or other electronic device attached. One thing you might not realize is that not all AC-to-DC transformers are visible. A significant number of consumer electronics products run on DC power and some, such as your cable box, DVD player, and VCR, house the transformer inside the chassis. Power strips, like adapters, draw power. Even if nothing is plugged into them, the little lighted switch is drawing 0.25 to 1.25 watts. Turn off the power strip—after you've turned off your other electronic devices—and you're saving energy.

4. Put your computers and monitors to sleep. Virtually all systems ship with energy-conservation features that are enabled by default. It’s a great idea to check that all your computers are enabled in this way. The EPA notes that using monitor and PC sleep modes is especially critical because many PCs are left on 24 hours a day.

5. Make smart computer monitor and TV choices. When replacing computer monitors, choose a flat-panel display. The flat panel uses a third of the power of regular monitors.

Big-screen HD LCD or plasma tv’s can be energy hogs. Large-screen CRT TVs may eat 312 kWh (kilowatt-hours) per year. A 42-inch plasma display can eat 496 kWh, and a 50-incher can suck down over 800 kWh. High-def also adds to energy consumption. The EPA recommends looking at your features, size, and resolution needs and taking into account the relative impact of each on overall energy consumption before making a purchase.

6. Take a look at windows and doors. Most of the heat and cooling waste goes right out the windows or doors. Put someone in charge of checking the doors. For new or old doors, put weatherstripping around the whole door frame--top, bottom, and sides--to create a tight seal when the door is closed. Install door sweeps on the bottom of the doors.

7. Take a look at your offices lighting choices. Replace your regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. They use just a fourth of the energy. Most take up a little more space than regular bulbs, but they will still fit in lots of light fixtures. Flourescent bulbs used to be criticized for the flickering, bluish light they gave off. But now we can get flourescent bulbs that almost match incandescent bulbs for warm light and color.

For really small fixtures, you will want sub-compact flourescent lamps, which can be hard to find. Now you can even get compact flourescent bulbs that will work in 3-way fixtures. Word of caution: never put a compact flourescent bulb in a circuit with a dimmer unless the bulb is specifically designed to be dimmable.

Use Incandescent Bulbs More Efficiently. There are some things you can do to limit the energy wasted with incandescent bulbs:

- Dim the lights where you can.

- It takes more energy to run two small wattage bulbs than one bulb with a higher wattage, so use one higher-wattage bulb instead of several smaller ones in a lamp (but never put in a bulb with a wattage higher than the maximum stated on the fixture).

- On the other hand, there may be places, like hallways, where you don't need as much light as you are using. So replace the 100-watt bulb you're using with a 75-watt bulb.

- Look for "Supersaver," "Watt Miser," or "Econo-Watt" bulbs, which use 5-13% less energy.

- Put reflector bulbs in for specific work areas that need strong illumination, like a sink or desk.

- Dust your lamps and light bulbs. Dust absorbs light you could be using.

- Remember that light-colored walls reflect more light and so need less lamps. Is it time to paint?

- Don't bother with "energy-saver" buttons. They may reduce energy use a little, but they really cut down on the light you get and negatively impact the efficiency of the bulb. Also, long-life and rough-service bulbs are less efficient so they won't save energy.

- Halogen torchieres have been very popular because they are inexpensive and are bright enough to light an entire room. Unfortunately they aren't very energy smart. If you have halogen torchieres, replace them with compact fluorescent torchieres. They produce more light for 70 percent less energy. Even if the halogen torchiere is cheap to take home, it's expensive to use, so you can save money over time by buying a fluorescent torchiere instead.

- Encourage a culture in your company where employees turn off lights when leaving a room. In common areas like kitchens or file rooms where people come and go without turning out the lights, use motion sensors to save on energy in between visits.

Automobile Efficiency Tips

- Using higher-octane gasoline does not get you more miles per gallon unless your car's engine was built to use midgrade or premium gas. If you're thinking about trying this one, read your car's manual first.

- Opening the windows will not save you gas over using the air conditioner on the highway. In fact, the extra drag on the car from the open windows will make it use more gas.

- Aftermarket stuff to boost fuel economy simply doesn't. According to the March/April 2006 AAA magazine, devices like "magnets, intake-air agitators, fuel energizers fuel additives, and lubricant additives . . . provide no significant gas-saving benefit."

- If you're thinking of turning off the engine instead of letting it idle, don't bother. Not unless you have to wait more than a couple of minutes.

- Gentle acceleration and deceleration cuts down on gas consumption. Ask employees to make an effort to go slowly and smoothly when speeding up, and do as much coasting to the stop sign as you can. A nice bonus is that this will help save on your brakes, transmission and engine as well.

- Proper tire inflation makes a huge improvement in gas consumption, helps your tires to last longer, and provides for greater safety. Check your company cars on a quarterly basis, or whenever the oil is changed.

- Use a nearby gas station. Even if gas is three cents cheaper at a station a couple of miles away…unless you are going near there anyway, you will have used up all your savings. Crazily enough, there are people who will drive 15 miles to save $3.00 on gas. Your times is worth something too.

- Slow down. In the April 2006 issue Consumer Reports, the group found that one car increased its gas mileage 5 mpg when it dropped the speed 10 mph. So the car went from 30 mpg to 35 mpg when its speed dropped from 75 to 65 mph. It went up again to 40 mpg at 55 mph.

- Don’t accelerate when climbing a hill. The engine works harder then, so apparently it eats up the gas. Think about how much more energy it takes you to run up a hill versus just walking. Great for using up calories and losing weight; not so great for saving gas.

- Reduce the drag on your company vehicles. If your vehicle has special attachments like car carriers, flags, etc…take them down when not needed. The extra drag really does make a difference in gas consumption.

When renovating your office space, consider the following:

- Use Heat Reflective Paint - Believe it or not, a heat-reflecting filter can be mixed into paint, then painted on walls, keeping warmth in during winter and warmth out during summer.

- Install "Low-E" Windows - Like the glass used in sunglasses, window glass can be manufactured to reflect certain kinds of radiation, including heat, helping to keep the inside of your home warmer in winter and cooler in summer. In addition, "low-E" windows are often built to maximize insulating properties using features such as non-heat conductive vinyl frames and a double-pane of glass with argon gas between the panes.

- Install a Geothermal Heat Pump System - Taking advantage of the ground's tendency to stay cooler than the air in the summer, and warmer than the air in the winter, geothermal heating/cooling systems can achieve truly mind-boggling energy efficiency ratings.

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