FPL energy experts recommend the following tips to quickly and most effectively help you conserve energy, trim costs and gain control over the energy usage in your business:
- Installing occupancy sensors in rooms in your facility that are not always in use could reduce your total lighting costs by 15 percent.
- Replacing traditional incandescent light bulbs is a great way to save. Choose Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) bulbs which use 75 percent less energy and last up to 10 times longer. Better yet, light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs use 85 percent less energy than incandescent – saving you about $70 in energy costs over the life of the bulb.
- Don’t forget about signage: replacing incandescent bulbs in exit signs with LEDs saves about 80 percent on signage operating costs. If LEDs are not compatible with your current sign, a new sign is inexpensive and could pay for itself within a year.
- Save up to 30 percent by using smart power strips to regulate energy use on equipment such as computers, copiers and printers.
- Enable the sleep mode on office computers to achieve savings up to $20 per year for each computer.
- Use up to 30 percent less energy when you switch to a fluorescent lighting system that operates with energy-efficient electronic ballasts rather than magnetic ones.
- Save about 20 percent in lighting energy use by installing bi-level switching to control lighting.
- Cut lighting energy use by up to 30 percent using timers or setting up a scheduling system to control lights on a predictable schedule.
- When it’s time to replace printers, refrigerators and other office equipment, choose products that have the ENERGY STAR® label.
- Programmable thermostats can be helpful by reducing air conditioning during unoccupied hours.