From Guest Blogger Lizzie Weakly: Workplace Environment–How To Keep Your Business Energy Efficient This Fall and Winter

As suggested in the pic here, generating body heat is one approach to energy efficiency in the cold winter months.  Another is, more serious suggestion, is described by guest blogger Lizzie Weakly below.  -ed

Energy efficiency is not only good for the environment – it’s good for your bottom line, too. But fall and winter can require a lot of energy output, so it’s important to be conscientious of your business’s energy usage during colder months and what you can do to mitigate it.

Turn off Devices and Lights

This is a simple one but the energy savings are significant. Good general advice is to use newer, energy efficient light bulbs and Energy Star certified electronics whenever possible, and to make sure they’re turned off when no one is in the office. This is especially important for weekends and holidays, and there are more major holidays when employees will be out of the office for longer periods of time in November, December and January than other times of the year.

Set Your Thermostat to Vary Throughout the Day

While it’s not good if your employees are constantly cold and miserable, as that will hamper productivity, get creative when programming your thermostat. Most modern thermostats allow for temperature variation throughout the day, so you can set certain hours at a much lower temperature. If your business doesn’t have a programmable thermostat, it might be prudent to invest in one. Also, keep control over the thermostat – forbid everyone but a handful of people from adjusting it to prevent changes being made to the program.

Make Sure the Building is Sealed Properly

Even a handful of places where air leakage is occurring can up your heating costs tremendously. Windows are a prime culprit, but so are doors. During colder months, you can remove or open blinds on windows facing the south or west to trap heat from sunlight better, and then replace or keep them down during the summer.

Get Creative

Do you use industrial-sized totes that contain certain items that must be kept at a certain temperature, like chemicals? There are products available, like the Powerblanket that are specifically designed to wrap around standard-sized industrial totes and keep them consistently warm. Might cavity wall insulation be a good way to beef up your building’s insulation by plugging in holes in a cavity wall? There are a number of odd but effective energy solutions that you probably haven’t thought of before.

Some changes may be big, but most changes you can make to increase energy efficiency are easy and small, but they really add up over time. Depending on where your business is located, you might even use more energy in the fall and winter months, so it’s a good idea to know what you can do to mitigate your energy costs and save your business some substantial cash.