A recent survey conducted by Hydro-Québec found that people in Calgary pay some of the highest rates for energy and utilities in North America. While there are a lot of reasons and a lot of blame about the situation, chances are there’s plenty of room for you to cut back on your energy consumption. This is equally true in both homes and businesses.
Cost reduction is something that’s on the mind of every business owner and manager. Given the cost of electricity in Alberta, cutting back on commercial energy consumption should be a high priority. Saving money on energy means you won’t have to cut back on essentials like Calgary business insurance, and it helps you maintain a safer and healthier workplace for your employees.
Business Insurance in Calgary: Reduce Electricity Consumption
One of the easiest ways to cut back on electricity consumption in the workplace is to completely disconnect all electronic devices and appliances at the end of each work day. Electronics and equipment such as computers, printers and photocopiers continue to draw electricity even when they’re switched off. You can eliminate this electricity wastage by cutting the power supply completely when these items aren’t in use.
Lighting is another area in which many businesses waste untold amounts of energy. If you haven’t already made the switch to fluorescent or LED bulbs, now is the time to do it. These simple measures translate into major savings on your energy costs. You could save thousands of dollars per year just by swapping out incandescent bulbs for energy-efficient alternatives.
Earlier this year, the Canadian federal government moved to make energy-efficient light bulbs the standard on the consumer market. Even so, it’s still worth the time and effort to hunt down the most efficient products for your intended application.
Dimmer switches, motion-activated lights and timers are also excellent money-saving tools. If you’re paying for full, bright light when it’s not needed or lighting up a building nobody is occupying, you’re just throwing money out the window.
Finally, consider creating lighting clusters instead of providing each work station with individual lights. When done right, this strategy can lead to surprising energy savings while meeting your employees’ task lighting needs.
Business Insurance Calgary: Shifting the Peaks
It’s not always possible in the business world, but if you can, try switching some of your more electricity-intensive tasks to off-peak times of day. During the warm-weather months, afternoons are considered “peak,” with mornings and evenings being “mid-peak” and the overnight hours being “off-peak.” During the cold-weather months, it’s the opposite — mornings and evenings are “peak” hours, while afternoons are “mid-peak.”
You could save as much as 50 per cent on your electricity costs by shifting certain tasks from peak hours to off-peak hours. It’s become standard practice for electric companies to charge sliding rates based on time-of-day usage, with electricity costing more during peak and mid-peak hours than it does during off-peak hours.
Business Insurance Calgary: More Energy-Saving Tips
Beyond managing your electronic devices and making changes to your workplace lighting setup, there are other effective strategies for saving energy in the workplace. Here are some further suggestions:
- Have your HVAC system serviced at least once or twice per year; running poorly serviced heating and air conditioning equipment consumes more energy.
- Use window treatments to control heat gain during the summer if you have large windows and receive a large amount of direct sunlight.
- Install fans to reduce the burden on your air conditioner and maintain better indoor air quality.
- Turn down your hot water thermostat; chances are you don’t need water as hot as the default settings will make it.
- Install programmable thermostats that give you pinpoint control over indoor heating and cooling.
- Switch to laptop computers if you’re still using desktop models. They use up to 90 per cent less energy.
- Dust lamps, lighting fixtures and diffusers seasonally; this removes particles which could be obstructing light.
Business Insurance Calgary: Trust Lane’s for All Your Commercial Insurance Needs
Lane’s Insurance is a full-service brokerage, helping you to find competitive rates while providing friendly, reliable value-added services on top of your business insurance in Calgary. Whether you need general or specialized coverage, Lane’s has you covered, and our knowledgeable and courteous insurance professionals are happy to provide any advice you may need.
Visit Lane’s Insurance online for a fast, free quote, or contact a Lane’s Insurance representative to discuss your unique needs in detail.
