SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS

Habits and technologies that will reduce your electricity bills

Check your team and technology to save on electricity costs in your business.

Considering how your habits and equipment affect you energy bill can go a long way to reducing what you pay, and improving the environmental impact of your operation. No matter your industry or budget, there are energy-saving actions that you can implement to reduce your bills.

Team

One of the cheapest ways to reduce your energy bill, is by making small changes to how you work day-to-day.

A few simple changes in the right place could noticeably reduce your electricity bill. Did you know that appliances on standby can contribute to 3 percent of a total energy bill? That sounds small, but combine a few small actions together and you could shave a sizeable portion off your electricity bill. The best thing about changing simple habits, is that this requires little to no upfront investment and can have an immediate effect.

*Appliances on standby can be up to 3 percent of an energy bill, and for every degree cooler you set your air-conditioning, the running cost can increase by 5 percent.*

There are many ways to implement behaviour change in your business. Here are our top picks:

Launch a competition to encourage staff to use less electricity. For example, if you have individual switches for different spaces, encourage staff to light only the space that they are using. These shifts in habits may seem small, but they can add up to significant savings for your business. One office reported a 15 percent reduction in electricity through a clever ‘Floor Wars’ campaign. The campaign encouraged staff to compete to reduce their electricity use more than those on other floors. For more on how to run a staff competition download the toolkit.
Install a desktop background on office computers with a reminder to switch off the computer and monitor and the end of the day.
Integrate energy efficient behaviours into your staff training and procedures. This could include keeping fridges fully stocked or turning lights off when leaving the room. Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers in South Brisbane include energy-saving tasks into their daily open and close checklists. This way, energy efficiency has become a part of their standard practice.
Display posters to remind staff to save electricity. Keep them light and entertaining to grab the attention of your team.

Energy efficient actions for

Brisbane business

Download (PDF 303 KB)

Technology

Replace old or broken equipment with energy efficient equipment

If you are serious about saving energy, making the most of available technology is a great option. Next time you are replacing a broken piece of equipment, consider investing in a good quality energy efficient alternative. These systems will reduce running costs, and are likely to have a longer life span.

4 and 5 star rated appliances cost up to 50% less to run. Every star counts!

Upgrade to LED lighting

LED bulbs have a longer life, lower consumption, and brighter light. While they cost more to buy than incandescent lights, typical Return on Investment is less than two years. Making the switch to surface-mounted LED lights (e.g. oyster with plastic luminaire) will improve the effective light distribution from each fitting and can reduce the number of fittings by about 30%. 

LED light bulbs can last up to 40 times longer than incandescent lamps, and cost 80% less to run. 

Maintain equipment

Another way to reduce the energy used by equipment and appliances is by conducting regular maintenance. When equipment parts are damaged or blocked, they can’t perform at full capacity. This means you are still paying the same, or more, to keep it running, but receive less than desired result. Regular maintenance can ensure you get the best value out of your equipment.

Without regular maintenance an air conditioner loses about 5% of its original efficiency for each year of operation. OUCH!

Understand your energy use with a monitoring system

Technology can also assist you to understand and monitor your energy use. If you have large premises, or run an energy-intensive operation, an energy monitoring system could help you increase your efficiency. Energy monitoring systems can indicate the amount of energy being used by different rooms, or pieces of equipment. This can help you focus your efforts to reduce your bills, and identify faults before they become costly. Our energy calculator can also give you a general guide to how businesses like yours commonly use energy, and which parts of your operation might be consuming the most electricity.