Savings for Your Commercial Busine$$ in San Antonio
Victoria Meade • August 14, 2019
Saving energy and boosting your bottom line
Chances are, if you’re a Property Manager or Business Owner, you’re most likely in search of more efficient practices to stay above your financial bottom line.
When we talk about business savings; especially in most office spaces and Commercial buildings, we usually tend to look at paper usage, copiers/ printers, and pretty much all other costly office supplies, or furniture, all tangible items that can become quite costly in annual expenditures.
How about we take a look at some other ideas that can also reduce your annual expenses for your commercial business’ bottom line, and keep your office buildings looking fresh and updated?
Motion Sensitive Lighting:
How often have you walked into an empty office or mail-room with the lights still burning brightly? I’ll even go one further…how many people in your building actually remember to turn the lights off when they leave the room?
Instead of wasting valuable time emailing (or printing) reminder memos for each and every one of your Team Members; why not try installing motion sensitive lighting in the areas of your office that aren’t always in use, such as conference rooms, restrooms, break rooms…etc., and eliminate the need for anyone to have to turn the lights off altogether.
After a certain amount of time with no motion detected in these areas, the motion sensing system will automatically turn the lighting off, which can effectively save you up to 70% or better in lighting costs!
Energy Saving Thermostats:
Are your employees constantly raising, or lowering the temperature on your office thermostats, because half of the office is cold and the other is hot? It definitely doesn’t help your energy savings to play the age old thermostat games.
Maybe it’s time to install some energy efficient, programmable thermostats in your commercial buildings? Allow your Management Teams to make the call on the most energy efficient settings; at different times throughout the year.
You might also encourage those Teammates who are always on the warm side, to bring a small fan for their desks, and encourage those who seem to always be chilled to keep a sweater or light jacket at the office. After all, you can’t keep everyone happy with the thermostat temps.
And while you’re at it, you should also make sure you’re not heating or cooling any rooms that really don’t need to be controlled by temperature.
Prevent Phantom Energy Drains:
What is Phantom Energy, you ask? Phantom energy is the energy that is still being used by equipment that is plugged in; but not in use. A great office energy-saving tip is to have your printers, monitors, and other larger devices, connected to power strips or surge protectors; so with one flip of a switch; several devices can be powered down at the same time. Then just as easily, they can be powered up when needed!
Have your HVAC Systems Maintained and Updated Annually:
Every year, it’s important to have your HVAC systems checked to ensure they are operating at their most efficient capacities. When these systems are working harder than they should, they can pose a considerable drain on your energy resources and run your electrical bills sky high! Not to mention, the repairs or replacement units can become quite costly! Maintenance is the key!
Window Control:
Office buildings tend to have a lot of windows, and if you’re in a large commercial building, School, or Hospital, multiple floors as well. Not to mention; the summer months in South Texas can be brutally hot. We all love the sunshine, but it does manage to put an added load on your air conditioning system, and your summer electric bills!
Why not try adding solar window films or awnings/ blinds? These options can help your office stay cool, and on those not so sunny days, you can raise the blinds to let the cooler, natural light in.
Another window trick is to have your windows checked to detect any leaks. A little initiative and a tube of caulk goes a long way to save on the energy bills!
Maintenance of Parking Lot Lighting:
If your Commercial Business has a parking lot, you have parking lot lighting, and quite possibly area lighting as well. This type of lighting is used in every shopping center, office complex, warehouse or distribution center, hospitals, and even school districts.
I’m referring to those tall, pole mounted outdoor lights, or the lights mounted on the side of your buildings, which are used to light up your parking lots and walkways for the safety of vehicles as well as pedestrians, Employees, and the like.
Most Parking Lot Lights utilize one of three (3) types of lamps:
- High Intensity Discharge (HID), which have a lifespan of about 2,000 hours
- Metal Halide, which have about a 6,000 hour lifespan
- or High Pressure Sodium, which have about a 12,000 hour lifespan.
The common issues with these types of conventional lighting technologies are:
1) High energy costs. These technologies utilize a lot of energy to maintain for such a short life span. They burn hot, and they have to be disposed of properly, as they can pose a danger to the environment.
2) Frequent maintenance costs. It can come at a huge cost to hire someone to come out and fix your parking lot lighting several times per year. Because these lights are mounted on poles, (15 feet or higher) there is a need for a bucket truck to change a lamp or ballast (or both!). This routine can become a big expenditure over time, and it can be very costly to maintain even just one single parking light fixture over a 3 year time-frame.
3) Sub-par lighting. Most of the traditional lights mentioned above; not only burn more energy to actually light your parking lots and walkways, but the output of light can be yellow or hazy, and quite frankly not bright enough for the many reasons you invest in them to begin with. Any light can be seen in the darkness, but the difference between well-lit and not well-lit means, the security of your parking lots, employees, students, patrons…etc.
When you wait until you notice a few or more parking lot lights are out; you run the risk of wait times for your Electrical Contractor to get out to you to repair your pole lights, or replace them. Maintaining them on a monthly schedule is more efficient, and can eliminate the need for urgent re-lamping or ballast change-out Service Calls per fixture, per year. I've said it before, and I'll say it again...Maintenance is the key!
Upgrade the Lighting (inside & out):
One of the most effective ways to save $$ is to cut your energy usage. Switching to the most efficient lighting technologies can reduce your electric bills significantly!
In this day and age, new lighting technologies are proving to be tremendously efficient, as well as effective.
LED lighting technology is where it’s at! Not only can LED lighting save on your annual electrical costs by up to 60%, they also last longer than traditional lighting technologies – require less maintenance – and LED lights are also Eco-friendly, which is an added bonus, and something pretty much everyone can be happy about! Oh, and get this... LED lights can have a lifespan of up to 50,000 hours!
Overall, upgrading to LED lighting in your office, commercial buildings, and warehouses, as well as your parking lot lighting, and security lighting is a savings you can’t afford to miss out on!
LED lighting is an investment that pays for itself.
If you’re interested in installing LED lighting in your commercial building, parking lot, warehouse...etc, give us a call at Bolt Electric! Our electricians are highly skilled in LED lighting technologies, and have the necessary qualifications and licenses to properly install your new and beautiful lighting.
Contact us here at Bolt Electric to see if your Commercial Business will qualify for a CPS rebate for upgrading to LED Lighting!
Bolt Electric has over 30+ years of experience in the Commercial electrical trade, and you better believe that integrity still matters to us! We are committed to providing friendly service and expert electrical work. If you are looking for a commercial electrician you can trust, check us out!
We specialize in - LED lighting retrofits - recessed office lighting - Lighting Control Panels - Bucket Truck Services -
- Parking Lot Lighting - Perimeter Security Lighting - GFCI and ARC-FAULT circuits - Sign Lighting Repairs -
and so much more!
Call us today to schedule an LED lighting consultation and experience our 100% satisfaction guarantee.
We’re very excited to work with you!
BOLT ELECTRIC
13106 Lookout Way
San Antonio, TX 78233
(210) 545-BOLT (2658)
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