June 27, 2008—The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is offering advice to help businesses save on their summer cooling bills with the proper use of programmable thermostats and facility controls.
EPA’s Energy Star program says that five simple steps can help curb energy use, help businesses become more energy-efficient, and fight global warming.
Energy Star’s Top 5 Ways to Cool Your World include:
Use Energy Star-qualified programmable thermostats or facility controls properly
Automate your air-conditioning system and save energy. EPA says it’s usually not necessary for businesses to operate cooling systems 24 hours a day. Program your system to scale back on cooling while buildings are unoccupied.
Inspect and maintain cooling system equipment
Cooling and ventilation use about 20% of the energy in buildings nationwide. As summer approaches, “tune-up” your air conditioning and ventilation system and continue with monthly maintenance.
Use Energy Star-qualified office products
Next time you purchase a computer, printer, copier, or appliance your business may need, look for the Energy Star. Energy Star-qualified products are more efficient and give off less heat, which can help reduce air conditioning load during the summer months.
Involve co-workers and employees
Use the power management features on computers and monitors, unplug power adapters when not in use, and turn off equipment at the end of the day. Turn off lights when leaving a room and replace incandescent bulbs with Energy Star-qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL).
Measure and manage energy use
Understanding how and where energy is used as well as what drives energy use is a key step in identifying opportunities to increase profitability by lowering energy and operating costs. EPA offers free tools to help track, measure, and analyze energy use as well as prioritize areas for improvement.
For more details on each of the tips, visit Energy Star’s “Is Your Business Ready for Summer?” Web page.
