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For most businesses, utility costs such as gas and electricity represent a significant portion of their regular expenses. Reducing the amount of money that businesses spend on these necessities will free up more funds to use elsewhere and is a worthwhile cost-cutting measure.

Below are four simple things that any business can do to reduce their energy usage and keep their utility bills as low as possible.

Commission An Energy Audit

A great place to start for any business that wants to get on top of their power usage is with an energy audit. An energy audit will look at exactly how much energy you are using and where it is being used. With this information in hand, you will be able to identify the areas where you can most effectively reduce your electricity usage and reduce your spending.

Switch To More Energy-Efficient Equipment

Whether it’s lightbulbs or laptops, there are nearly always energy-efficient alternatives to common technology that you can opt for. These energy-efficient options will cost you less to run, whether they are powered by batteries, or they run off the mains. Switching to more energy-efficient options also gives you an excellent line to use in your marketing. Once your entire office has switched to energy-efficient bulbs, why not announce it to the world and let everyone know that your business is an eco-friendly operation?

Use Quality Hardware And Maintain It Properly

Low-quality and inefficient hardware will often demand much more power than it needs. This means that businesses either have to frequently replace batteries and equipment, or they have to pay more for electricity delivered via the mains. Invest in quality hardware and components, and keep them safe from anyone tampering with them, or the weather causing damage that could mean you have to replace your equipment more regularly. Check out this range of enclosures to keep your equipment safe and ensure that it continues to perform to its full potential. You can also add maintenance and inspection checklists to the doors of these electrical enclosures so that you can help your team to ensure that your gear is always checked and maintained correctly.

Instil Good Habits In Your Workers

The most effective tactic that you have for keeping your energy spending as low as possible is to get your whole team on board with the energy-saving measures. Once you have made good habits like automatically turning appliances off when they aren’t in use second-nature amongst your team, you should notice your electricity use steadily declining until it reaches a new plateau.

You can even make a game out of it and reward the departments in your business that are able to reduce the electricity consumption most effectively in the short and long term.

The best way to save energy, is not to use it! Occupancy or PIR (Passive Infra-Red) detectors can be used. These energy saving devices will automatically switch your lights or electrical equipment on and off, only when they’re needed. Occupancy detectors are particularly useful in corridors.

Reducing your power consumption is much easier than you might think. Even for businesses that rely upon heavy, power-hungry machinery for their day to day activities, there are always things they can do to reduce the amount of electricity that they need to use, and therefore need to pay for. Consumers today love eco-friendly businesses so investing in your green credentials could end up paying out for you in a big way.

Claire Preece