Energy Efficiency Action Worksheet PDF

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Prepare an Energy Use Worksheet to track business energy use. Update this information on a regular basis to monitor results of water conservation actions. Prepare an Energy Survey Worksheet and EnergyUse Process Map to outline the main energy uses in the business and help identify the best areas for efficiency efforts. Prepare your Business Carbon Footprint Worksheet and consider the public reporting of your greenhouse gas emissions. See Chapter 16 on reporting. Consider joining the U.S. EPA’s Climate Leaders program to work on voluntarily reducing your company’s greenhouse gas emissions. For more information, see: www.epa.gov/stateply. Consider the purchase of carbon offsets or renewable energy credits to make your company carbon neutral. Develop a company-wide energy efficiency policy and communicate that policy to all management and employees. Set a company policy to shut off all lights, machinery, or equipment when not in use. Much equipment is idle for up to 90 percent of its life. Prevent shadow energy use. Connect your equipment to power strips that can be easily turned on and off. Turn all equipment off at night and on weekends, if feasible. Consider using energy-efficient surge protectors or power strips. The Belkin Conserve Surge Protector works with a remote control. See www.belkin.com. The Smart Strip Power Strip automatically cuts power to other equipment when the main switched equipment is shut down. See: www.btsltd.net/ consumerproducts. The Isole Plug Load controller combines a surge protector with a motion detector shut-off. See: www.wattstopper.com. Consider using simple timer devices to shut off equipment at night and on weekends. These can easily be set to shut off your power strips, and thus shut off multiple pieces of equipment. Install motion sensor and/or automatic dimming switches for all lighting. To dim fluorescent lighting, you will need to retrofit any older fixtures with newer electronic ballasts. Use task lighting to light only areas that are in use, rather than an entire room.

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Install reflectors to increase the effectiveness of any lighting fixtures. This simple retrofit can reduce lighting needs by up to 50 percent. Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps, wherever appropriate. Upgrade to T-8 (1-in diameter) fluorescent lamp tubes with solid-state electronic ballasts that are more efficient than older T-12 (1.5-in diameter) tubes with magnetic ballasts. Use T-5 fluorescent lighting if you are considering a complete retrofit of lighting. Always buy Energy Star qualified products for your business. The Energy Star label indicates the most efficient computers, printers, copiers, refrigerators, televisions, windows, thermostats, ceiling fans, and other appliances and equipment. If you need to purchase new equipment, buy equipment that is durable and can be easily upgraded. Consider whether the product has online manuals that reduce the need for printed manuals, and also whether the equipment is recyclable or if the manufacturer has a take-back policy. Even better, investigate the leasing of any business equipment that you may need. Clean refrigerator and cooling coils and condensers twice a year. Replace door gaskets if a dollar bill easily slips out when closed between the door’s seals. Install an insulation blanket on water heaters 7 years of age or older, and insulate the first 3 feet of the heated water “out” pipe on both old and new units. Set water temperature only as hot as needed (110-120 degrees). Insulate hot and cold water lines in any areas which they pass through that are not heated or cooled. If buying a new water heater, always buy the most efficient model possible. In areas of infrequent use, consider tankless water heaters to reduce standby storage costs and waste. Even better, install a solar thermal water heating system for your business. Make sure your heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are operating at peak efficiency. Consider using an annual maintenance contract. Regularly change (or clean if reusable) HVAC filters every month during peak cooling or heating season.

Install a programmable thermostat to automate your HVAC system and set it to significantly scale back heating and cooling when the business is not in operation. These units generally offer a 50 percent rate of return on the cost of the original investment. Control direct sun through windows depending on the season and local climate. During cooling season, block direct heat gain from the sun shining through glass on the east and especially west sides of your business. Depending on your facility, options such as solar screens, solar films, awnings, and trees can help prevent summer heat gain. During heating season, with the sun low in the south, unobstructed southern windows can contribute solar heat gain during the day. Plug all leaks in your building’s shell with weather stripping and caulking. Use expandable foam to fill any gaps. Use fans. Comfort is a function of temperature, humidity, and air movement. Moving air can make a somewhat higher temperature and/or humidity feel comfortable. Fans can help delay or reduce the need for air conditioning, and a temperature setting of 3 to 5 degrees higher can feel as comfortable with fans. Each degree of higher temperature can save about 3 percent on cooling costs. Use reversible fans that pull hot air up in summer and push hot air down in winter. Use natural ventilation whenever possible to lighten the load on your HVAC system—open the windows! Consider installing double-paned windows. These generally can reduce heating and cooling costs by over 30 percent. Seal and repair all leaks in your building’s HVAC duct works. Insulate any duct work that passes through unheated or uncooled spaces. Isolate any unused space in your business building and close the heating and cooling vents to those areas. Completely seal and insulate any unused exterior windows that are not used or are not necessary for good lighting. Install automatic door closers to close and seal doors.

Use exterior insulating covers in the winter months for any air conditioners. Upgrade the energy efficiency of your older equipment. Modern equipment is much more energy efficient, often with less than half of the energy use of older equipment. Efficiency upgrades for motors and drives for equipment, air compressors, lighting, and other energy-consuming equipment often have rapid payback periods.

Install variable-speed switches and controls on any equipment where this is feasible. A variable-speed control can save up to 70 percent of energy used on many installations. A typical industrial motor may use 10 times its actual original cost in energy every year. That’s like spending $100,000 annually for gas for a $10,000 car. Replace your old electric motors in fans, compressors, and pumps with modern high efficiency motors. See if you can downsize any of your business’s equipment, including heating and air conditioning, refrigeration, and other systems. Newer, more efficient newer equipment can often be sized smaller and perform better than older, less efficient machinery. Many types of machinery, such as air compressors, turn up to 90 percent of the energy used into waste heat. Investigate methods of using a heat recovery system that allows you to use that waste heat in other areas of your business. Switch off any machinery when not in use, or slow down the speed of fans or motors if possible to accomplish without a reduction in efficiency. If your building still uses fuel oil, consider switching to cleaner natural gas. Better yet, investigate the possibility of installing renewable energy systems on your business property, such as solar thermal heating, solar photovoltaic, wind, or geothermal systems. You might be surprised at the savings possible as fossil fuel energy prices continue to escalate. Use all of the energy efficiency measures outlined for travel and transportation (Chapter 9), office equipment and computing (Chapter 10) and building design (Chapter 12), and relating to product and service design (Chapter 13). Depending on your particular type of business, there are many more additional energy efficiency measures that you can take for your business. Check all available sources for more energy-saving ideas in Appendix B, on the enclosed CD, and on the Internet....