Energy Saving Tips for Your Building
Facility managers often have to grapple with high energy bills for a variety of reasons but all of them largely related to inefficient use of energy and old technology. Energy saving measures several benefits; the energy bills come down, comfortability in the building improves and modernizing the energy systems reduces the building’s carbon footprint. What are some of energy saving measures changes that can raise energy efficiency?
Programmable LED lights
There is a lot of energy wastage that happens in lighting. Lights will be left on when there is no one using the spaces they light up, bright lighting in daylight becomes superfluous and the energy is also lost by using outdated bulbs.
Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting is the best there is today. LEDs do not light up because of heating like in filament and gas bulbs. The diode emits the light as current crosses it. There is no loss of energy as heat. LED lighting lasts longer than other bulbs, are easy to install and come in a variety of colors.
The best thing about LED lighting is that it can be programmed for efficient lighting. Bulbs are set to dim as daylight becomes brighter and brighter as dusk sets in. They also come with sensors such that they light up when there is movement in a room, and go off after sometime when the room is empty.
LED lighting can drastically change the energy use in a building. An LED bulb will typically use 10% of the energy an incandescent bulb of the same wattage could use.
More efficient elevators
Old elevators are energy inefficient. In very old buildings, the elevators are likely to be throwbacks to the DC current era. This type of current was preferred because it enabled easier controlling of elevators. But elevator technology has evolved to use AC power and high capacity magnets. These elevators are gearless, which makes them more efficient is energy use.
Advanced elevator systems of today use the imbalance in energy use by empty and full cars to regenerate energy and channel it back to the system.
Higher efficiency in heating and cooling
It is possible to improve efficiency in heating and cooling by:
- Installing radiant floor heaters instead of wall heaters. Warm air rises and keeps a room comfortable throughout regardless of the door and windows being open.
- Installing high windows and skylights. These are able to capture more sunlight and heat.
- Installing high volume low-speed fans which keep the air in constant circulation. These help mix hot air near the ceiling and cold air near the floor keeping the space warm.
While some of these changes can cost quite a bit, the long-term returns on investing in energy saving will surely be worth the investment.