Quick tips for energy savings

• Turn off lights in areas of your building that are not in use. Turning off lights saves energy, extends lamp life, and reduces replacement costs. It’s a myth that turning lights off and on uses more energy than leaving them on.
• Turn off electronic lighted displays and signs when your business is closed.
•  Clean or dust fixtures and light bulbs regularly to ensure that they continue to operate efficiently.
• Replace incandescent lamps with more energy efficient alternatives:
• LEDs use about 50% less energy while producing the same amount of light output.
• LEDs last 20 times longer than incandescent lamps, reducing long-term maintenance costs.
• Although LEDs are slightly more expensive, their improved energy efficiency and long life reduce long-term maintenance costs.

Long-term energy savings tips

• Upgrade to a more energy-efficient lighting system. Upgrading from a T12 fluorescent system with magnetic ballasts to a linear LED system with electronic ballasts can reduce energy use by up to 70%.
• Install occupancy sensors in restrooms, conference rooms, and other areas with intermittent use.
• Replace incandescent EXIT signs with LED signs. LEDs use about one-tenth the wattage of incandescent signs and last up to ten times longer.
• Install a dimming system in areas where natural daylight reduces the need for artificial light.
•  Install timers, photo-cells, or motion sensors on outdoor lighting systems.

Quick tips for energy savings

• Raise thermostat settings during the cooling season and lower during the heating season.
• Adjust thermostats further during times that the building is unoccupied, such as weekends and holidays.
• For every one degree of temperature change, you could save 1 to 3% in cooling and heating costs.
• Set thermostats in storerooms and other seldom-used areas at minimum settings.
• Close blinds during the cooling season to reduce cooling needs.
• Open blinds on south-facing windows during the heating season to take advantage of the solar heat.
• Perform regular maintenance to ensure your HVAC system continues to operate efficiently.
• Change filters regularly.
• Keep condensers and coils free of debris.
• Repair leaks by replacing deteriorating insulation, piping, etc.

Long-term energy saving tips

• Install locking devices over thermostats to maintain desired temperature settings.
• Install programmable thermostats. Save energy by adjusting temperature settings based on your hours of operation.
• Install a high-efficiency HVAC system to reduce energy usage. Air conditioning units with an Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) rating of 10.5 or higher reduce overall operating costs.
• Install a zoned HVAC system to provide more control over temperatures in different parts of your building. Zoned systems are controlled using multiple thermostats. Each zone has its own thermostat that can be set to its own temperature.
• Install an economizer to bring in cooler outside air during the cooling season.
• Connexus offers HVAC rebates, including rebates for rooftop units, air source heat pumps, and economizers; rebates for chillers, cooling towers, and air handling VAV (variable air volume) systems; and more.

Quick tips for energy savings

• Use your computer’s “sleep mode” setting. For ideal savings, set it to turn off your monitor after ten minutes of inactivity and your hard drive after twenty minutes. This can reduce a computer’s energy use by nearly half.
• Turn off screen savers. They keep your monitor running at full power, rather than allowing it to go into sleep mode.
• Turn off computers, monitors, copiers, and printers at the end of the day. This can save from $50 to $150 per year, per device, depending on the type of device and its energy consumption.
• Unplug chargers, computer speakers, coffee makers, etc. when not in use. They continue to draw energy even when they are not in use.
• Use “smart” power strips to automatically turn off office equipment. “Smart” power strips have sensors or timers that can turn equipment off and on.

Long-term energy saving tips

• When upgrading or replacing office equipment, look for models that are ENERGY STAR® qualified. ENERGY STAR® qualified office equipment can save up to 50 percent in energy costs.
• Consider purchasing laptops versus desktop systems to save up to 80% in energy costs.

Quick tips for energy savings

• Shut down any motors that run unnecessarily, such as:
  • Ceiling fans in unoccupied rooms.
  • HVAC fans – set them to auto rather than ON, so they only run when the system is heating or cooling.

Long-term energy saving tips

• When replacing worn or damaged motors, upgrade to premium efficiency units to reduce operating costs.

• Install variable frequency drives (VFDs) on large motors to further reduce operating costs where motor loads vary.

Connexus offers rebates for VFDs.