Tips for saving energy at work

For tips specific to food service, industry, or agriculture, check www.fypower.org!

Lighting

1. Turn off the lights when not needed. It is a myth that leaving them on uses less energy than turning them off. Turn off signage and other lights when not necessary for security and safety.
2. Disconnect or remove lamps in multiple lamp fixtures. Use task lighting where needed.
3. Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), wherever appropriate. CFLs use at least 66% less energy and last an average of 10 times longer.
4. Buy fixtures that have a dimmer, which allow you to manually adjust the intensity of light in a room. Because most lights use less electricity at lower settings, you do not need to pay for more light than you need. Dimmers can be used with incandescent lights, including low-voltage systems, but only with new-screw-based dimmable fluorescent bulbs. Other fluorescent lights must have their own dimmable ballasts.
5. Install occupancy sensors in the proper locations to automatically turn off lighting when no one is present, and back on when they return. Use sensors in rooms with high traffic (break rooms, restrooms, conference rooms) for reduced lighting costs of up to 40%. But don't install the sensor behind a coat rack, door or book case. It must be able to "see" the motion of occupant approaching an unlit area to turn on the light before, or as they enter.
6. Rewire restroom fans to operate when lights are turned on and turn off when the restroom is unoccupied.
7. Install exit signs with Light Emitting Diodes (LED). A new LED exit sign fixture will save about 90% over an incandescent bulb's operating costs.
8. Replace standard fluorescents. T8s and matched electronic ballasts provide an estimated savings of 35 to 45% of electricity operating costs.

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC)

1. During the summer, set the thermostat to 78°F or higher when the workplace is occupied, and 85° F or off after business hours.
2. Perform regular maintenance to keep HVAC systems running more efficiently. Maintenance activities can save up to 30% of fan energy and up to 10% of space conditioning energy use.
3. Install an energy-efficient attic fan or evaporative cooler. Attic fans or evaporative coolers help reduce or replace air conditioner use.
4. Install an ENERGY STAR programmable thermostat to automate your HVAC system. An "old-fashioned" thermostat turns the HVAC on and off based on temperature, not whether the building is occupied, or whether you benefit from the cooling/heating. A programmable thermostat can optimize HVAC operation "24/7" based on your needs. For example, instead of heating or cooling all night, so you can enter a comfortable building in the morning, this "smart thermostat" can turn on the HVAC one hour before you arrive, based on your daily/hourly needs. The cost can be $25 to $150, and it could cut your HVAC costs about 30%. Add a locking cover to prevent tampering with thermostat settings.

Electronics and Office

1. To turn off computer scanners, printers and other devices that are plugged into a power strip, simply switch off the power strip after shutting down your computer.
2. Install free software from the Environmental Protection Agency that puts monitors in sleep mode when not in use. This can save $0.085/kWh of power used by networks.
3. Do not leave equipment in sleep mode overnight because it will continue to draw a small amount of power. Turn off all equipment every night — especially monitors and printers. Monitors usually consume twice the electricity as CPUs.
4. Choose electronic products and appliances without a built-in clock or timer. The displays only consume about a half watt, but the power supply in the appliance is converting 120 volts of alternating current to low-voltage direct current for the clock or timer. This is very inefficient and consumes 20 to 100 watts/hour per day. This is enough to run a compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) continuously for 10 hours.
5. Use laptop computers. Laptops use up to 90% less energy than a desktop computer.
6. Print with ink jet printers instead of laser printers. Ink jet printers cost less to maintain and use 90% less energy than laser printers.