Best Storage While Renovating

One of the most expensive parts of owning any small business are the overhead costs you need to pay just to set up shop. From paying your employees to settling your tax bill, out of control overhead costs can cut into any small business's profits. 

One of the ways to reduce your small business's overhead costs is by reducing your energy bill. Here are 3 proven energy saving solutions to reduce your small business's energy costs and needs:

Energy Audit

Most utility companies will come to your small business to assess its energy needs and inefficiencies. These energy audits are almost always free and help you locate easy ways to cut your energy bill and overhead costs. You can even learn more about electric rates and peak times to avoid running your system. 

Once the audit is complete, it is critical to have the energy auditor explain the results. You can also ask them to provide you some ways to address the needs and inefficiencies isolated by the audit.

Smart Power Strips

Even if you power down your work stations at the end of each business day, many of the electronic gadgets plugged into your power strips will still consume power and drive up your electric bill. One way to prevent these energy wastes is by outfitting your small business with smart power strips. Unlike conventional power strips, smart power strips designate one of the power hubs as a "control" outlet. When the device plugged into this "control" port is powered down, the power is cut to the remaining ports. 

Thus, when you shut a computer down at the end of a work day, the monitor, printer, and other electronic gadgets plugged into the smart power strip will be shut down too. Using smart power strips can reduce your energy bills by 5 to 10 %.  In less than a year, each power strip will likely pay for itself in reduced energy costs.  

Post Your Thermo-stats & Energy Bills

Making yourself and your employees aware of costs associated with your business's energy needs encourages a climate of shared accountability and decision making. Posting and updating your small business's energy consumption in a central location can have a powerful effect on your employees. Many utility company's provide daily energy stats on that are easy to understand and updated in real-time.  

One of the biggest battles waged in small businesses around the world center on the work environment's temperature. Posting your work environment's temperature  and allowing your employees to modify the temperature within a few degrees of a set temperature can quell these battles and reduce your energy bills.