With the sun’s rays on full blast and humidity levels reaching their peak, summer is a natural time for businesses to take stock of their operations and consider practical ways to reduce energy use without sacrificing customer or employee comfort.
With energy efficiency, even the smallest changes can add up to make a noticeable difference to your environment, comfort and bills without major disruption or upfront investment. The NHSaves® utility partners can be your trusted resource to accessing energy-saving upgrades for your business along with specialized incentives and longer-term opportunities.
Save on Operational Costs This Season
In a business environment, the potential for higher energy use isn’t limited to outdated equipment; how your systems are scheduled and maintained plays a big part in the overall picture of efficiency. Day-to-day use of these systems can also contribute to wear and tear over time, limiting your operational performance and hindering optimal energy use.
Granite Staters experience the hottest days in summer, the coldest days in winter and everything in between. These seasonal swings can have an impact on your business’s heating, cooling and ventilation needs. With tight operating budgets and the pressure to manage overhead costs looming, we recognize the importance of optimizing everyday operations and allocating your dollars toward efforts that will affect positive change for your business year-round.
Consider making these simple changes to fine-tune your operations and boost efficiency:
- Review operating schedules: Make sure lighting, HVAC and equipment schedules match actual business hours. Even minor schedule corrections can reduce energy use during evenings, weekends or slower periods.
- Check thermostat and control settings: Summertime’s hot temperatures often call for different heating and cooling settings than the shoulder months. Updating setpoints and controls can help avoid unnecessary use of your HVAC system while maintaining cool, indoor comfort for staff and customers.
- Replace filters and perform routine maintenance: Dirty filters, blocked vents and overdue maintenance can make HVAC systems less efficient. A simple maintenance check can improve performance and ensure comfort as the weather changes.
- Reduce plug load and idle equipment waste: Encourage staff to shut down nonessential equipment, monitors and breakroom appliances when not in use. These habits are low-cost, easy to implement and can add up over time.
- Revisit lighting practices: Turn off lights in unoccupied areas, maximize daylight where possible and look for opportunities to upgrade to efficient lighting. If lighting upgrades are on the table, utility partner incentives may help reduce project costs.
- Enroll in an active demand response program: Get in touch with your utility partner to see if enrolling in ConnectedSolutions is an available resource for your organization.
Your Trusted Energy-Efficiency Companion: the NHSaves Utility Partners
The NHSaves utility partners offer support on a variety of business-focused efficiency solutions. Energy assessments can identify operational and equipment-related savings opportunities, and there are specific incentives available for lighting, HVAC, controls and other efficiency upgrades. The NHSaves Business Marketplace is a one-stop shop for outfitting your business with simple efficiency wins like advanced power strips and smart thermostats. Additionally, the utility partners’ financing offerings can help businesses move beyond low- and no-cost upgrades and into even deeper savings.
Remember: Summertime can act as a starting point for long-term efficiency improvements, but not everything has to be done at once. With lowered operating costs, improved building comfort and less energy use up for grabs, it’s the perfect time to check in on your business’s efficiency. A few simple operational changes can help you save energy now, while setting the stage for even bigger savings ahead.