As global energy prices have surged significantly in the past two years due to supply chain disruptions and rising demand, businesses are increasingly pressured to manage their electricity consumption more efficiently to mitigate the impact on their bottom line.

In addition, companies are now focussing on maintaining sustainable business practices in the office, which is another reason to reduce electricity consumption, especially with more and more businesses adopting ESG reporting.

So, in this article, we’ll walk you through some of the best ways you can reduce electricity consumption in the office and save money on your bills.

Conducting an Energy Audit: The First Step Toward Efficiency

An energy audit is an assessment of a company’s energy use. Its purpose is to identify where the most energy is being consumed and if there is any inefficiency or wastage in energy use.

Energy audits are essential for businesses, as they can help building managers understand where they can make savings and promote sustainability in their energy usage, which is good for both the budget and client outlook.

Conducting a simple office energy audit can be an easy process, which can be done in-house or with the help of a professional, depending on capacity and expertise within the team.

A few steps in conducting an energy audit include reviewing energy bills, inspecting lighting systems, evaluating HVAC systems, and examining equipment usage.

These simple steps could help you discover where the wastage lies, whether that’s a lack of energy-efficient lighting or outdated equipment which uses more energy than a newer model would.

However, for those looking for a more in-depth and detailed analysis, hiring a professional could help you make some significant savings in the long-term.

Optimising Office Lighting

One of the first ways you can make savings and future-proof your office with sustainability in mind is through your lighting.

It might be a good idea to switch to energy-efficient LED lighting. In fact, LEDs far less energy than incandescent and fluorescent bulbs, making them the energy-efficient option for any office.

In addition – if this is possible, based on your office’s location – utilising and maximising natural light can help you reduce reliance on artificial lighting.

Whether that means positioning more desks near your office’s biggest windows or using glass partitions to ensure sunlight reaches all areas of the office, there are a few different ways to achieve this.

Going back to artificial lighting, motion sensors and timers can make a big difference, when they’re used in areas that don’t require constant lighting, such as toilets, break rooms and storage rooms. This reduces the chance of human error, where people can forget to turn lights off when exiting these rooms.

Finally, adding dimmable lights can also help you save money, especially if the natural light is particularly bright in the office.

These are just a few of the ways you can optimise office lighting to reduce electricity consumption in the office and save money on your bills.

Managing HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) Systems Efficiently

When it comes to saving money on bills and reducing electricity consumption, another important part of this is regularly maintaining HVAC systems.

This can include:

• Filter replacement and cleaning
• Cleaning evaporator and condenser coils
• Inspecting and cleaning ducts
• Checking and calibrating thermostats
• Lubricating moving parts of your HVAC system
• Checking refrigerant levels
• Cleaning drain lines
• Checking system controls and safety features
• Inspecting sealing and insulation

It’s also a good idea to install programmable thermostats to help you control temperature during office hours. Once you’ve done this, you’ll be able to adjust the thermostat settings based on the seasons, helping save money and reduce energy consumption in the warmer months.

In addition, as mentioned above, insulation and sealing is an important part of HVAC system maintenance, as these two elements can cause temperature loss when there are leaks or issues, so they should be consistently checked and maintained.

It’s clear that efficient maintenance of HVAC systems can greatly reduce electricity consumption and lower your bills, as HVAC systems typically account for the highest energy usage in the office, second only to technology and equipment.

Upgrading Office Equipment and Appliances

Another essential part of reducing electricity consumption in the office and saving on your bills is modernising office technology.

Investing in energy-efficient appliances such as laptops, printers, photocopiers and refrigerators can help decrease power consumption, as well as keeping your office up to date with technological updates and advancements. This also helps save time, as newer appliances are likely to be faster and easier to use, helping both your energy consumption and the overall efficiency of your operations.

In addition, it’s a good idea to encourage employees to use the sleep or hibernate modes on their laptops, computers and other appliances when they’re not in use, to help reduce consumption and save money.

Another option to consider when it comes to reducing consumption and saving money on bills related to office equipment is using smart power strips, which reduce your power usage by shutting down the power that goes to appliances in standby or sleep mode. In turn, this can help eliminate phantom energy loss from idle devices.

Finally, it could be worth evaluating your office server room to check for energy waste there and to see if any processes could be streamlined to save money.

Encouraging Employee Behavior Changes

It’s important to note that, when it comes to reducing your energy consumption and saving money on bills, fostering energy-conscious behaviour amongst employees can make a significant difference.

More and more people are becoming aware of their personal energy consumption with the energy crisis in the past few years – however, this doesn’t always translate into people’s work lives.

This is where it could be beneficial to implement certain measures within the office. From a more informal perspective, just encouraging employees to be more energy-minded, such as turning off lights, computers and equipment when they aren’t in use could help.

In addition, setting up an internal reward system or running competitions for employees who are saving energy could be a good way to incentivise people in the office to focus on reducing energy consumption and saving money on bills.

It’s always a good idea to create clear communication about this topic, as well as having educational programs available to employees, focussing on energy conservation.

Also, appointing an “energy champion” to oversee office-wide energy consumption could prove useful when it comes to encouraging everyone in the office to share your company’s goals of reducing consumption and saving money on bills.

These are some of the ways you can encourage employees to help you reduce electricity consumption in the office and save money on bills.

Implementing Renewable Energy Solutions

If you’re looking to make a bigger change to the way your office uses energy and electricity, it might be time to look into adopting renewable energy solutions for long-term savings.

For example, installing solar panels can be a great investment to not only help you make future savings but also to reflect your business’ commitment to sustainability.

In addition, switching to a green energy supplier could also prove beneficial, as these suppliers sometimes offer schemes or reduced rates as an incentive for businesses embracing a sustainable and greener future.

There are many benefits of switching to renewable energy sources, in addition to saving money on energy bills.

For example, with renewable energy sources such as solar panels, you can increase your office’s property value for the future, as energy-efficient buildings and offices are more attractive to buyers.

As we touched on above, using renewable energy solutions cements your business’ values and focus on sustainability, which can help you attract both clients and talent to join your team.

These are just some of the reasons as to why implementing renewable energy solutions can help your business.

Monitoring and Adjusting Strategies Over Time

It’s essential to be flexible when it comes to your electricity consumption and money-saving strategy.

As we have seen over the past five years, electricity, energy and the bills associated with them can be turbulent and unpredictable, so it’s important to keep going back and reassessing your approach.

This way, if things change and your strategy is no longer effective in helping you save money, you’ll be able to notice this and make the necessary changes quickly, before it can have an impact.

Sustainable Practices Lead to Long-Term Savings

To conclude, it is clear that sustainable practices lead to long-term savings.

From using energy-efficient lighting and modern appliances to fostering an energy-conscious workforce and doing constant maintenance on your systems and approach, being on the ball in terms of sustainability and energy consumption is essential.

As we move into Autumn and eventually Winter, it’s a good idea to start looking at your energy and electricity consumption now to start figuring out how to save money on your bills and create a sustainable, future-proof energy strategy for your office.