Energy

Every business can reduce the amount of energy it consumes. By making a few simple changes your business can save energy, which means reducing your energy bills and your impact on the environment.

10 tips for saving energy in your business:

1. switch off appliances at the wall when not in use – appliances left on standby equate to 10% of Australia’s total household energy consumption;
   
   
2. change your incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) – they produce the same amount of light, use one third of the electricity and last up to ten times as long;
   
   
3. set your thermostat around 18-20°C in winter and 25°C in summer – for every degree you decrease your thermostat, you can save up to 15% off your heating bill;
   
   
4. turn your monitor off when you go home – leaving your computer and monitor on out of office hours can produce as much greenhouse pollution annually as driving your car from Melbourne to Perth;
   
   
5. switch lights off when not needed – lighting accounts for up to 60 per cent of energy use in an office;
   
   
6. switch to a laptop and save up to $200 in energy savings over 3 years – a desktop computer used 8 hours a day generates over 600 kilograms of greenhouse gases each year while laptops on the other hand, use 80% less energy;
   
   
7. improve insulation and draft proofing - seal off draughts and cracks around doors, windows and other vents, which are responsible for 15-20% of heat loss in winter and loss of cool air on extreme heat days;
   
   
8. purchase energy efficient appliances, and maintain your equipment to ensure it works efficiently;
   
   
9. install timers to switch lights off, or light motion sensors to ensure lights switch off automatically when areas are unoccupied;
   
   
10. remove screen savers from your computer – set your computer to ‘sleep’ or ‘power save’ mode so that it powers down when you’re not using it.

Resources

• Do an energy assessment of your business
  
• Calculate environmental and financial savings from energy efficient lighting
  
• Green Power
  • greenpower.gov.au/home.aspx

The content on this page has been provided by Grow Me The Money, a program run by VECCI, a leader in delivering sustainability services and supporting small to medium businesses within Victoria. www.growmethemoney.com.au