No-cost savings suggestionsLighting
- Turn off lights in unoccupied areas, remove excess lighting and turn off signage and other lights that are not necessary for security or safety.
- Turn off lights in areas where daylight is sufficient. Keep lighting fixtures and lamps clean. Remove lamps wherever possible.
- Make sure exterior lighting is off during daytime hours.
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)
- Make sure air conditioning economizers are working properly and set to maximize the benefits of "free cooling."
- Set air conditioning thermostats to 78°F or higher. When heating, 68°F is the recommended temperature. Turn off HVAC equipment when the building is unoccupied.
- Follow a routine maintenance schedule. Regularly clean and vacuum easily accessible components, clean or replace air filters, check fan belts, lubricate motors, pumps and fans and inspect for refrigerant leaks.
- Turn off exhaust fans in unoccupied areas.
- Seal off unused areas and reduce or eliminate heating or cooling in these spaces. Storage rooms, warehouses and other unoccupied areas are good places to start.
- Keep exterior doors closed as much as possible so you're not paying to heat and cool the outdoors.
Office equipment
- Reduce the hours your equipment runs unnecessarily. Personal computers, monitors, printers, copiers and scanners should be turned off at night and over weekends when not in use.
- Make sure computers are using power-management capabilities. A screen saver does not save energy, but an enabled ENERGY STAR® labeled monitor will conserve energy by going blank after a preset period of inactivity. Free software from the ENERGY STAR® Low Carbon IT campaign sets computers across a network to automatically enter a low-power sleep mode and save up to $50 annually for each connected computer.
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